A Game of Enemies
by ivory-sword
Summary: SEQUEL to A Game of Trust. In the wake of New York, Aspen and Steve go on a quest to piece together the clues Aspen's parents left behind. They are tested to breaking point as they fight for their lives and for each other as enemy organizations try to get their hands on the Superhero Serum research. True feelings come out and new hardships work to break them apart.
1. Part One: Home

**Author's Note: **Here we are finally! This is the sequel to **_A Game of Trust_** if you are coming across this for the first time. Please read that one first. If you are returning from reading my first _Avengers_ fan fiction, welcome back! I'm so excited! I've been working hard and have some great things planned for this sequel. I am going to try to spread this one out a little longer because I'm going to be extra busy this summer with more hours at work plus just doing summer things that involve not being glued to my computer. But I promise not to go more than a week without posting a chapter.

My best friend created an account (blackinkonbluelines) so please check her out! She just started posting a Bucky fiction that is fantastic! (I have read the whole thing, and love it!)

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**Part One: Home**

**Prologue – May 8, 2012**

"The Tolvar girl is headed to Portland with the super soldier," the man said into the phone, pacing his office. "She told me about it, about how she was searching for something her parents were researching. She has no idea I'm the one who had her serum stolen. She doesn't suspect a thing. We're not the only ones after their work though. We need to be careful. The sniper almost took her out. Too bad he didn't hit the super soldier instead. We've taken care of him though." He listened to the voice on the other line. "Yes, yes, I've got men following them to Oregon. Anything they get their hands on, I'll deliver personally to Grindavik headquarters." He fell silent again, listening to his instructions.

He looked out his office window, watching a murder of crows fight over a discarded bag of French fries in the parking lot below. "Understood. The Adaptoid will be ready in time. The girl has her parents' smarts. She'll deliver under the right pressure, and I think I know just what her pressure point is." He listened for a moment. "Yes, sir, I have the final element needed. I'll have it overnighted." He reached out to stroke the broken off handle of a staff as he listened to further instruction. A blue energy glowed at the top end of the staff. "I'll see to it right away." He hung up before dialing another number.

"I have a job for you," he told the man on the other line. "Get Jacobs and meet me at my office in ten. I'll give you the details." He hung up, setting his phone on his desk before shuffling around in the drawers for the right papers. He pulled out a detailed profile for Aspen Tolvar and for Steve Rogers, setting them on the desk. Each had a picture of the target on the front. He smiled to himself. When he'd first met Aspen, he hadn't been sure how to get to her, but after seeing her around the soldier out of his time, he knew just the way to get her to bend to his will. Threaten the soldier, and she would do whatever he wished of her. He'd watched the footage his men had taken of the battle. He'd seen the solider save her and her reaction when she'd thought him hurt. He tapped his fingers together. Having Captain America would be perfect ammo against SHIELD.

Jacobs and Randal tapped on his door ten minutes later. He called them in, and they stood before his desk looking imposing in their tailored suits and dark shades. "I have a job for you," he said, standing. He flipped the files around so that Jacobs and Randal could see the photos. "See these two? You're to follow them to Portland. They're looking for the Tolvar research. That's Ava and Gregor's daughter. Let them follow the clues then bring them in when they have the research. I need them alive, but you can rough up the solider if need be. He's not going to come easily. Don't underestimate the girl. She's SHIELD. I need any research, anything they find. It's vital that we complete the formula in time."

Jacobs and Randal nodded. He tapped the files into a folder and handed it over. "This requires discretion. Blend in. Don't give them any reason to suspect you. They're on the 10:15 flight on Friday." The two agents nodded again and left without a word.

He tapped his fingertips on the desk. If everything went according to plan, the rest of the Tolvars' research would be in his hands within a week. He had been informed that Ava Tolvar was cooperating more since he'd forced her to call her daughter. Once the serum was complete, once he got his hands on all of their research, then they could finally complete the Adaptoid. He flexed his arms, a familiar pain flaring up. Gritting his teeth, he reached into his desk and pulled out a syringe. He was nearly out of the serum, and it was becoming less and less effective. He rolled up his sleeve, trying to ignore the violent red rash that stretched from his wrist to his inner elbow. Inserting the needle, he hissed as the serum entered his bloodstream. As soon as he had the Tolvar's serum, he would be able to cure himself. Until then his days were numbered.


	2. Long Distance Call

**1 – Long Distance Call – May 6, 2012**

Steve watched as Aspen tensed beside him, sitting forward on the loveseat. She gripped the cell phone in her hand until her knuckles whitened. "Who is this?" she asked, her voice a harsh whisper. She was silent while the other person on the line spoke. Steve strained his ears to hear, but the connection was bad, and he could only make out a few words.

"How do you know where I am?" Aspen demanded. As the person spoke to her, Steve saw emotion flitting across Aspen's face. She started to shake a little.

She took a deep breath and asked, "Mom? Is that you?"

Steve's eyes widened. Aspen pressed a button on her phone and set it on the coffee table. A muffled voice spoke over the line. "It's me."

Aspen breathed in sharply. "After all this time," she said. "Why now?"

"I was worried. I saw the footage of New York."

"You knew I was there." Steve could tell that Aspen was trying to keep it together, but her whole body was shaking now. He wanted to comfort her, but didn't know how. Instead he focused on what her mom was saying on the other end.

"I knew. I've been keeping an eye on you."

"But you couldn't be bothered to mention that you were still alive?" Aspen asked, her tone holding an anger Steve knew came from her resentment toward her parents for never trying to find her.

There was a long pause on the other end. "Penny, I'm so sorry," her mother said.

"Don't…don't call me that." Aspen shut her eyes, and Steve saw a tear leak out. He reached out to touch her hand. She gripped it like it was the only thing holding her together. "It's been eighteen years. Eighteen years that I thought you were dead. And after I found out you were alive? Nothing changed. You still weren't there."

"I'm so sorry, Aspen. We did it to protect you. You have to believe that. I would rather have died than lose you, but it was the only way."

"Danners is dead. Why are you still hiding? Why can't we be a family?" Her voice cracked.

"I heard about Danners, but it's complicated."

"Don't give me that. You owe me an explanation. You owe me."

"I know, I know, Aspen. I can't talk about that right now."

"Where are you?" Aspen demanded.

"Did you get my package?"

"The one with the aspen bark in it, yes."

"Good. And you have the deed to the Sunflower House?"

"I booked tickets to Portland. I'm leaving Friday."

"That's where it all started, Aspen. You have everything you need."

"My childhood home, my memories. All that's missing is my family. Where's Dad?"

Aspen's mom was silent for a moment. "I'm not sure right now," she finally said. Aspen's grip on Steve's hand tightened, but he didn't wince. He squeezed her hand back to let her know that he was right there. "We got separated when we were on the run a couple of months back. I haven't heard from him." Steve could hear the worry in her voice.

"I don't even know what to say," Aspen said. "What do you say to the mom you haven't seen since you were three years old? The mom you thought was dead up until a year ago?"

"I know what I want to say. I love you, Aspen. No matter what. I love you. I wanted to say that in case we get cut off. Follow the clues."

"What do they lead to? You?"

"It's not safe right now."

"Will it ever be? Or is this just an excuse?" Aspen asked bitterly.

"It's not an excuse. I would do anything to see you right now, Aspen. If only it was possible."

"What will I find in Portland?"

"You're going to have to find out for yourself. Be careful, there are people who would see you hurt everywhere."

"Who's out there?" Aspen asked.

"Danners wasn't our only enemy." A mechanical click sounded on her mom's line. "Just be careful," she said in a rush. "I can't say more." She sounded terrified. Steve could hear the trembling she was trying to keep out of her voice. Aspen leaned forward.

"Mom?"

"I have to go, baby. I have to go. Be safe. You'll figure it out."

"No, wait! You can't just go!" Aspen cried out in frustration.

"I love you, Aspen. I love you. Remember that."

"Mom!" There was a click, and the other end went silent. Aspen screamed in frustration. "She's gone. How can she be gone?" She was crying openly now.

Steve pulled her to him as she began to sob. The sobs wracked her small body, and he felt tears soaking through his shirt. Aspen looked utterly broken in that moment, and it hurt to watch. He rubbed her back, trying to calm her. This was an unexpected turn of events. Was it coincidence that Aspen's mom had called her right before they took their trip to Portland to follow the clues the Tolvars had left behind?

After a few minutes, Aspen's sobs lessened, and she began to calm down. She pressed her head to his collar, trying to control her breath. "I'm s-sorry," she said.

"Don't apologize," he told her. She pulled back and looked up at him, green eyes wet. He could see the sorrow in them, the hurt and the pain. He brushed the hair from her face where it clung to her tear-streaked cheeks. He wished he could take that pain away.

"After all this time…" She shook her head. "I just…I don't even know how to react to this." She stood, pacing the living room. He could see the frustration and anger building up inside her. "It's not fair!" she shouted suddenly. "I spent eighteen years thinking I was an orphan. Now she thinks she can just call me? Tell me she loves me? How is that fair when I haven't seen her face since I was three? Hadn't heard her voice up until now. How is that fair to shock me with that and then take it all away in less than a minute?"

"It's not fair," he said. He stood, going over to where she was pacing and placing his hands on her shoulders. "It's not, but you know she's alive at least. It's a start, Aspen. We can find her. Can you figure out where she was calling from?"

"It was a blocked number, but I might be able to track it." She sat down in front of her computer and plugged the phone into it. Steve had no idea what she was doing, but he sat down next to her again, watching the screen curiously. Aspen typed in some numbers and then a series of numbers ran across the screen, changing every so often. He wasn't sure what they were waiting for. Aspen sat at the edge of her seat, chewing on her bottom lip, a habit he'd noticed she did when she was nervous. Something flashed up on the screen after about ten minutes. It was a map with a little red dot that pulsed and was labeled.

"Grindavik, Iceland," he read aloud.

"That's where she is."

"What's in Iceland?" he asked.

Aspen shook her head. "I don't know. I suppose it would be a safe place to disappear." She typed Grindavik into her computer. "It's a small fishing village on the coast. Less than 3,000 people." She sat back. "I don't know what to do."

"I know this might seem like impossible advice after hearing her voice, but maybe you should wait until she's ready to find you. She made it sound like it would be dangerous for you to find her now. Let's go to Portland and see what we can find there. We might learn more to help us figure out what happened to her." He watched as Aspen contemplated his words.

"You're right," she said finally. "It would be stupid to go chasing after her right now. She could have just been calling from there. We don't know she's living there."

"We'll find her," Steve assured her, hoping he was right. "Just maybe not right away."

"I don't know how I'm going to make it to Friday," she told him, shutting the top of her computer and turning to him. Her green eyes were vivid with the emotion she was feeling. It was one of the things he loved about her – she was always so compassionate and full of life. Unlike most of the agents he'd met at SHIELD, she spoke with her eyes and not just her words instead of hiding behind a carefully masked expression. "Like I can concentrate on topographic landmass weather patterns or nuclear reactions when I'm this close to going after my past."

"It's only five days," he tried to reassure her. "I'm sure you'll ace your tests."

She gave him a small smile. "I hope so."

"In the mean time, what can I do to get us ready?" he asked. He felt a little useless not knowing what to expect. Aspen had done so much for him, it was his turn to do something for her.

"Pack for an indefinite period of time," she told him. "I bought us one way tickets. I have no idea how long this is going to take. Maybe you should take a look at these." She grabbed a set of file folders sitting on the edge of the coffee table and handed them to him. He opened one and found himself looking down at a dossier that listed enemies of SHIELD. The list was fairly substantial. Some listed were just names, but others were organizations. "These are people and organizations that might want to get their hands on my parents' research or might have already. We'll have to be careful. A lot of people would do just about anything to get the complete formula."

"Was it ever completed?" Steve flipped through the pages.

"Not to my knowledge. My aunt tells me they were missing an element. I guess the experiments didn't go so well. I have some of the elements – bits and pieces they've left behind – but not enough to complete the formula."

"Do you think one of these organizations stole your serum?" he asked, looking up at her.

"Most likely. I lost the ability to track it when I broke my old phone. The memory card cracked when I threw it. Speaking of tracking." She fingered the necklace she always wore. Steve looked a little closer at it. It was a small bird charm with a little crystal that dangled next to it. "There's a miniature tracker in this bead," she said. "I should get you one too, a tracker that is. I have it set up so that certain people will always be able to check in on me, my aunt being one. I'm going to set Clint up too. He might be on a mission soon, but if anything goes wrong in Portland, he'll have a way to track us. I'll set up tracking on both our phones so we can do the same for each other if we get separated."

Steve nodded, hoping that it wouldn't come to that. Aspen looked back down at her phone as if willing it to ring so she could hear her mother's voice again. Steve knew well what it felt like to want so badly to hear a parent's voice again. It'd been so long since he'd had that opportunity. He was struck by how much he wanted to hear Peggy's voice again too. When this was over, he would call her. At least he still could. Aspen's encouragement had given him the courage. He needed to make his peace and move on. He couldn't keep living in the 40s when the 40s had left him far behind, taking everything he knew, everyone he cared about, with it. He looked over at Aspen. He'd been lucky, so lucky to have met her. He'd found someone new to care about before more than a day had even passed. He sometimes wondered why she was so loyal to him. She'd never judged him, never treated him differently because he was Captain America or because he was from an entirely different time. Her friendship had never wavered from the start despite the fact that she'd been hurt and betrayed only a few months before that.

He wanted to tell her all of this, but he held back, unsure of how she felt. Cleary she still felt something for Loki despite the fact that he had destroyed a substantial section of New York. It only affirmed his belief in her good heart. She didn't judge people, just sought the goodness in them even when no one else could see it.

"I think I'm going to turn in soon," Aspen said softly. "Sorry, I don't think I can watch the movie anymore."

"Don't worry about it," Steve said. He'd forgotten they were even watching a movie. "You have too much on your mind. Is there anything I can do before I head home?"

"No, you've done enough. Thank you. I'll call you tomorrow after my finals."

Steve stood, a little hesitant to leave Aspen alone after her shock. "Are you sure you're going to be alright?" he asked. "What you just went through on top of the battle…"

"If I've learned anything the last few days, it's that I'm tougher than I thought," she said in response, giving him a small smile.

"I know you're tough," he said, smiling back.

"Did I ever tell you that during the battle, when I ran after Loki, I managed to wrest his scepter from him then called him a child and threw it down on the ground before coming to find you at the bank?"

Steve stared down at her, a grin breaking out over his face. Aspen never ceased to surprise him. She was so calm and serious most of the time, but she was spirited, there was no question of that. Loki had certainly met his match in her. "How did he react to that?" he asked her.

"I didn't stick around to see," she said with a shrug. "I have a feeling he wasn't happy though."

Steve couldn't help but be curious about what had passed between Aspen and Loki in her final conversation with him, but he would never ask. That was her business. He found himself glad that Loki was not coming back to earth for reasons that had more to do with his relationship with Aspen and less to do with the actual destruction. Whether he had a good side or not, he didn't deserve Aspen.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow," he said, heading toward the door. "Good luck with your tests, I know you'll do well."

"After New York, this will be easy."

Steve wondered if she'd had nightmares last night. He'd spent his own night in his apartment trying not to think of the death and the destruction. He found it a lot easier to forget when he was around her. When he was with Aspen, everything else seemed to have a way of melting into the background. Whenever he was feeling down about his life, the past he'd been ripped away from, the people he'd never get to see again, her smile always brought him back to the present and reminded him that he did have something to be happy about, something to look forward to.

"Goodnight, Pen," he told her.

"Goodnight, Cap," she said with a wink.


	3. Flight Nerves

**2 – Flight Nerves – May 10, 2012**

The week went by slowly, and Aspen felt as if every day, every final, dragged. It didn't help that _everyone_ was talking about the Battle of New York as it had been dubbed. She'd heard more girls swooning over the superheroes and heard more far-fetched stories of epic one-on-one battles with the Chitauri. It was all she could do to just keep walking.

"…and that's when I grabbed the alien's laser gun and blasted like four of them before they could get any closer," a junior boy in her biology class was staying when she walked in for her final. A group of giggling girls surrounded him. "It was a close one, but they obviously had no idea what they were doing."

Aspen tried not to roll her eyes unsuccessfully.

"Ooh, I was saved by Captain America," one of the girls said, looking as if she might swoon. "I was trapped in the bank when he rescued us."

"The guy's a legend. My dad collects his trading cards. I wonder if I could get him to sign them…"

Aspen was suddenly reminded of Coulson, a thought that made her want to leave the room.

"Hey, Tolvar, what happened to your face?" the boy who had been puffing himself up asked, seeing her injuries. "Were you there?"

"I was in a car accident," she said. "Nothing serious."

"Did you see the action though? It was incredible!"

Aspen tried to keep her anger in check. People had _died_. What did this boy know?

"I was lucky to see it up close-"

"Lucky?" Aspen asked, her voice low and dangerous. She had their attention now. "_Lucky_? People _died_. I was down there. I saw some of the worst of it. Yeah, it's cool that there were superheroes like Iron Man and Thor and Steve down there-"

"Who's Steve?" one of the girls asked.

"Never mind," Aspen grumbled.

"Steve Rogers – that's what Captain America's real name is," the boy put in. "You sound as if you know him," he added, turning to Aspen.

"I just read about him," Aspen said. "I told you, I was in a car crash."

"But you just said you saw the worst of it-"

"Just drop it," she practically growled.

"Okay, okay," he said, holding up his hands in surrender. "I'll stop asking."

Aspen turned away from them, ignoring the giggles of the girls. She was saved the next moment when the teacher arrived with their finals.

When Thursday evening finally came, Aspen drove to Steve's apartment after her last final. She'd talked to Clint the night before, setting him up with the GPS locaters. He'd wished her luck, lamenting that he couldn't be there too. He seemed to be doing better with work to keep his mind off of things. Aspen could still see a haunted dullness to his eyes when he thought she wasn't watching him, but she'd seen several genuine smiles and gotten a few laughs out of him. She hadn't slept well that week, waking up to several nightmares involving Chitauri and explosions. Without Steve there, she'd lain awake for hours before giving up on sleep and rereading over her school notes and sometimes the letter her mother had written to her – the one she'd found in the puzzle box.

Now as she pulled her car over to the curb and got out, she felt a rush of excitement. In less twenty-four hours they would be boarding a plane for Portland and she would be that much closer to finding out the truth. She had made a mental note of everything her parents had left for her, packing only the address with the coordinates and the floppy disk. The letter and bark were locked safely away in her office at SHIELD.

She knocked on Steve's door and was admitted a second later. The kitchen smelled like food, and she looked around in surprise. "Are you cooking?" she asked. She set her school bag down next to the door and entered the kitchen.

"Er, yeah. Trying to anyway." He had a box of pasta out on the counter and a pot on the stove. The pot was currently overflowing with bubbles. Aspen grabbed a wooden spoon and stirred it, lowering the temperature a hair. "It was supposed to be done by the time you got here." He shrugged sheepishly which made Aspen smile widely.

"You're cooking dinner for me?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's not going to be anything special. I just thought after such a long week and with all that excitement, you deserved something…" he trailed off, looking embarrassed.

"No one's ever cooked dinner for me," she said, feeling touched. "Thank you."

"I hope you like spaghetti. Besides toast, that's about all I know how to cook."

"Sounds amazing. Do you have sauce?" She dug around his cupboard.

"Er…" He fumbled around in a grocery sack that sat on his kitchen table. "I seem to have forgotten that."

"That's alright, I know how to make it from scratch," she assured him. "It's a family recipe my aunt used to make when she wasn't too drunk to cook."

"How is your aunt doing?" Steve asked her as she got out the ingredients to make the sauce. Fortunately he had everything she needed.

"A lot better. We talk regularly now. After New York she even offered to fly up, but I told her it was all right. She stopped drinking and took a position at the local college teaching biology. I think she's really enjoying that. She left the whole science scene after what happened with my parents, but we're working on getting her to forgive herself."

"Did you tell her that your mom called?" he asked.

"Not yet. I'm not sure how she'd react. She's doing so well…"

"How are you holding up?"

"As well as I can. I'm anxious to get going." She turned the heat up on the front burner, stirring her sauce until it began to thicken. "It's hard not just jumping in. Having to wait a week was torture. You should have seen me in my last final. I'm pretty sure my classmates think I have fleas for how much I was squirming in my seat."

Steve chuckled. "Well you don't have long to wait now," he said.

"Tomorrow. I'm so excited and yet so scared. I don't know what to expect. I called the company that handled the deed of the Sunflower House, and they said it's in rough shape. It's not livable anymore. I'm just afraid any clues have been erased."

"Your parents were – _are_ – smart. They'll have hidden anything well and in a place that wouldn't get destroyed over time."

"You're right. This is going to be like a Nancy Drew mystery!"

"I actually know what you're talking about!" Steve said excitedly. "I read the Hardy Boys books when I was younger."

The stove buzzed, and Aspen drained the pasta in the strainer. "This was supposed to be me cooking for you," Steve said woefully.

Aspen grinned. "It's alright. It's the thought that counts. You could pour drinks and put out plates and silverware."

"Right. I hadn't gotten that far." He cleared the table and set it while Aspen mixed the sauce in. She served the pasta onto two plates, and they sat down to eat. "This is way better than what I would have come up with," he admitted.

"Well I'm no Shakes at cooking, I just had to fend for myself a lot growing up. I got to be a pro at making Macaroni and Cheese more interesting."

"Did you like growing up in Arizona?"

"Not really. It was hot and dusty. I was used to the lush forests and mild climate of Oregon. I don't remember a whole lot about Portland, but I remember really liking it."

"But you never moved back?"

"No. I was recruited by ARTIFACT straight out of high school. I incorrectly thought that Joseph Danners and his organization were going to be my ticket to learning more about my parents and my past. I should have known it was too good to be true."

"I think sometimes we tend to forget to be cautious when someone offers us information about someone we love. If you hadn't joined ARTIFACT, you might be wondering to this day what you might have learned from them."

"You're right. I like to think that everything up to this moment happened for a reason," she said. "Even what happened with Loki. Sometimes pain is necessary to learn a lesson. I feel like I've come out of it a stronger person."

"I feel the same way about the war. It was horrible, and I still have nightmares about the deaths I saw, the deaths I was responsible for…but in the end, I think I came out a better person. I learned what it means to truly fight for what you believe in, for what you believe is right. I've lost, and I've learned to move on. It's just hard when it's really been over sixty years, but for me it's only been a few weeks." Aspen nodded. She forgot sometimes how close his past still was to him. "After I woke up, Fury sent me the files on the men who helped me take down Hydra during the war. They're all dead. Everyone except Peggy."

"That must have been a shock."

"It finally made it all real."

"How did you meet?" she asked. "If it doesn't hurt too much to talk about it," she added hastily.

"No, it's alright. When I was in Italy trying to sell war bonds, I heard that soldiers had been captured by Hydra. My friend Bucky was one of them. I convinced Peggy and Howard Stark to fly me behind enemy lines and set out to free the prisoners."

"By yourself?" He nodded. "Did you ever think you might not come back?"

"It crossed my mind, but I would do anything to get Bucky back and the other men. I was able to free them. We returned to the camp, nearly 400 men."

"Who most likely would have died if you hadn't gone after them."

Steve looked bashful. "Just doing my duty."

"And following your heart. What happened after that?" she encouraged.

"I picked a group of men to help me take down Hydra. We were called The Howling Commandos. There were seven of us including Bucky and me. We managed to take out several Hydra bases and eventually gain access to the lab where Schmidt was hiding. They were some of the best men I knew. I wish I'd had the chance to tell them that."

"You saved their lives and they chose to follow you into extreme danger. I think they knew how much you appreciated them." Aspen smiled. "I think it's just instinctual to want to follow you. I know the feeling."

"Before the war, before the serum…no one would ever have followed me. Except maybe Bucky, but he was usually too busy getting me out of fights – me being the punching bag."

"I can't believe anyone would do that to you," she said in an outburst. "But I suppose bullies existed back then too."

Steve smiled at her. "If I'd known you back then, maybe they would have thought twice before bullying me."

"I would have come to your defense," she told him. "They wouldn't have known what hit them. Literally."

Steve chuckled. "Probably not."

They chatted for awhile longer about the war, and Steve seemed more comfortable bringing up his past. Then Aspen told him about the conversation she'd overheard before her Biology final. "It's like they just have no idea about the reality of violence. Kids play violent video games all the time, watch violent movies, but he just made up some cock and bull story to make himself a hero. They don't realize what really happened – how many people really died."

Steve frowned. "That really bothered you."

"It did. The girls were giggling over you, you know. I guess one of them was trapped in the bank when you stepped in to save them." Steve's ears reddened a little. "I thought she was going to swoon."

"I don't know why…" Steve looked down at the table, looking flustered.

Aspen regretted embarrassing him. "They're just caught up in the whole superhero thing. I know you for just being you though. That's what matters."

He looked up at her, blue eyes warm. Aspen smiled under his gaze, wondering just what it was that he was thinking at the moment. He didn't reply though and a moment later they cleaned up together, washing and putting away the dishes. "Thanks for this," Aspen said, turning to Steve as she folded the dishtowel. "It was nice. Just what I needed."

"I'm glad." His eyes shone as he looked at her. Aspen kept folding the towel, suddenly not knowing what to do with her hands. "I should-" she said at the same time Steve asked. "Would you-"

He blushed. "Go ahead."

"I should get home to pack," she said. "I've been packing and repacking all week."

"I was going to ask if you'd like me to meet you at your apartment or if you wanted to pick me up tomorrow."

"I'll pick you up and drive us to the airport. I'll be here at 8:45."

"I'll see you then." He walked her to the door where she retrieved her school bag. A twinge of excitement and nerves twisted her gut. She turned back to look at him. "It will be fine," he assured her, reading her thoughts. "Whatever happens, we're in this together."

If anything could have made Aspen feel better, it was that. On impulse, she pulled him into a hug. His arms went around her instinctually without any of the awkwardness from the beginning of their friendship.

"Tomorrow," she said pulling away. "For better or for worse."

…

Steve heard the knock on his door at 8:45 sharp. He grabbed his duffle bag and opened the door. Aspen stood there, dressed in jeans and a tan leather jacket. Sunglasses were shoved up on her head, tangled in her light red curls. The blonde strands stood out, and he wondered if they were natural or if she'd somehow colored them. On her suggestion, Steve had donned a more casual, modern outfit unlike his usual slacks and button up shirts. He had a blue T-shirt that was a little tighter than he was used to and a pair of jeans that she had told him were purposely worn looking (a concept he couldn't quite grasp). He'd replaced his usual shoes with a pair of sneakers. He shoved his Brooklyn baseball cap onto his head and grinned at her.

"How's this?" he asked.

"You look like a natural!" she said, beaming. "No one will suspect a thing."

He locked up his apartment and followed her down to her car. He noticed she wasn't driving her usual black Audi. "Where's your car?" he asked.

"I borrowed this one from SHIELD. It's a little less conspicuous," she told him. It was a black Acura. Steve was beginning to recognize car brands though he had no idea which was better than another. He climbed into the passenger's seat after tossing his bag in the backseat. Aspen had only packed a duffle bag too, he noticed. They were quiet on the drive to the airport, both nervous though they tried not to show it to the other. Aspen parked in the parking garage by the airport, and they shouldered their bags. She led him into the building which was huge and unlike anything Steve had ever been in before. She stopped at a small machine similar to a computer where she printed their tickets. Steve watched, fascinated. He curbed his questions and let Aspen lead him to the security checkpoint. She'd warned him about these, and he was prepared when they had to take off their shoes and belts and stand still while the guards waved wands over them. Steve kept his mouth shut when he wanted to ask what the guards were looking for. He'd heard about 9/11 and the preceding security measures. SHIELD had set him up with a driver's license changing his date of birth to 1986 instead of 1918 to avoid suspicion. The guards said nothing if they recognized the name.

They finally passed security and grabbed their bags again, lacing their shoes up. Aspen found their gate and they sat waiting with the masses of other people flying out that morning. A news report was playing on the TV above their heads, and Steve was nervous to find they were reporting on the battle of New York again. Footage showed a distant shot of himself dressed in his red, white, and blue uniform. He pulled his hat down lower over his face.

Aspen noticed and glanced up at the TV, frowning. "Just act like you have no idea what they're talking about if anyone says anything," she told him. "At least you don't have your shield with you. That would be a dead giveaway. Also it would have sent those metal detectors into a frenzy."

"It wouldn't fit in the bag."

They waited for half an hour before their plane began boarding. Aspen handed him his ticket. "Just hand it to the woman at the door," she said. "Our seats are toward the back of the plane." He nodded, getting up to follow her as their row was called. He handed over his ticket as the woman working there gave him a smile and wished him a good flight. The plane was tight, and he felt a little claustrophobic as he followed Aspen back to their seats. An anxiety started to build, and he found it hard to breathe. They stowed their bags in the overhead compartments above their row. Aspen gave him the window seat and sat next to him, strapping herself in. There were three seats per row, but they were crammed in, and Aspen's leg was pressed against his. He took comfort in her closeness, trying not to feel nervous. The last time he had been on an aircraft, he realized, he had taken it straight into the Arctic and ended up frozen for sixty-seven years. No wonder he felt nervous. He tapped his fingers on his leg. After the battle in New York, he shouldn't be feeling a little jittery over a plane flight.

"Sky Mall. A staple in any airplane experience," Aspen said, diverting his attention. She pulled a glossy magazine out of the seat pocket in front of her and flipped it open. "A whole magazine with things you never knew you needed. Like look at this portable ice cream maker with a Panini grill attachment. Eat canned beans no more while camping. Or these solar toads that light up your yard like little fairies lights."

He smiled at her humor and found himself forgetting his nerves as she took him through the entire magazine with commentary. The seat next to them was taken by an elderly woman who started knitting immediately without a word. When the plane began to move, Aspen paused in her commentary. Steve hadn't realized he was clenching the seat arm as the plane gained speed, but he felt Aspen place her hand over his and glanced down at her. She gave him an encouraging smile, and he relaxed.

"Planes have gotten a lot safer in the last sixty years," she assured him as the plane left the ground.

"It's not that, it's just…the last time I was on a plane…" he trailed off, but Aspen's eyes widened in understanding.

"Of course," she said softly. "The Valkyrie." She squeezed his hand, and he felt a little better. "That's not going to happen again," she reassured him. "We've got a long flight ahead of us. We're stopping in Denver to get on another plane before heading to Portland. Should be about 8 hours with the time in between. We're in for a long day, but we'll be okay." He nodded, trying to calm his nerves.

"It's silly. I know the same thing isn't going to happen."

"It's not silly. You don't have to make excuses," she told him. "Oh, I forgot to give you this." She pulled out a leather cord bracelet and handed it to him. It was a dark color and had a golden token on the top. It was a compass, he realized, etched into the metal. A couple of silver beads were braided in. "The tracking device is in one of the beads. Clint has all our information, so if anything happens, he'll know. I've set it up on my phone. Let me do it on yours."

He handed his phone over and pushed the bracelet onto his right wrist. He liked it. It was small enough that it wouldn't draw attention, and the compass was perfect. Aspen handed back his phone.

"All set."

"Thank you," he told her.

"Let's just hope everything goes smoothly."

They had gained altitude now, and Steve glanced out the window. He could see New York City fading into the distance, the cars as small as toys. He could see the span of the destruction better from the air. He felt Aspen lean over him to look out the window. "It looks worse from here," she said as if reading his thoughts. He found himself suddenly distracted by the smell of her shampoo as her red curls fell over his shoulder. He brushed the thought aside as she leaned back in her seat. She sighed. "I wish we were there already," she said impatiently. Her green eyes were tinged with worry. "We gain three hours going across the time zones, so it will only be about three in Portland when we arrive."

"You want to go home right away," he said.

She turned her eyes on him. "At least to see the house. Then we'll find a hotel. We can start searching tomorrow. I have a feeling we're both going to be pretty exhausted when this flight is over."

…

The rest of the flight wasn't bad. Aspen kept up a steady stream of conversation, and Steve learned more about her than he had known before. They were careful to not mention anything aloud that would sound suspicious to the other passengers like facts about World War II or SHIELD. Aspen seemed to be in her element as she spoke about college and the friends she was getting to know better in her classes. He could tell how much she loved having something normal to talk about. When he had first met her, there had been a lingering sadness in her eyes, but now they danced with life when she spoke and when she laughed, her entire face laughed along with her mouth. Halfway through the flight, Aspen had drifted off, her head resting against his shoulder like it was the most natural thing in the world. He was surprised by how comfortable she was around him. They'd hit it off at once, but they'd only known each other for a little less than a month. He felt the same way around her though. There was something safe, something reassuring about her presence, and she seemed to feel the same way about his. He lay his head back against the seat, letting it rest lightly against hers and shut his eyes.

When the plane began its descent in Denver, they both awoke. Steve was feeling uncomfortable again. Memories of taking the Valkyrie down invaded his mind, and he found himself tensing again. Aspen didn't say anything as she took his hand, entwining her fingers with his. He shut his eyes and focused on that. When the plane touched down on the airway, he found that he was only slightly shaken. Aspen's reassurance had driven the fear away. He hadn't realized he would feel that way. The Valkyrie was part of the past, but to him it was a not so distant memory.

They waited until the plane was fully stopped at the gate and got out, grabbing their bags and heading into the airport. He could feel the heat radiating through the tunnel that led from the plane to the airport. They had an hour layover, so they ate lunch at a little restaurant in the airport and looked through several of the stores before finding their new gate and awaiting the arrival of the plane. Aspen had gotten quieter, and Steve summed it up to nerves. When she turned to him and said, "I think we're being followed," he tensed, fighting back instincts to look around them. "Two men, two o'clock, four o'clock. They were on the first flight. They're trying too hard not to look at us."

Steve casually stretched, peering over at one of the men. The man met his eyes and then looked away, feigning disinterest. "I don't recognize him."

"Me neither. Maybe I'm being paranoid."

"Go with your instincts," he told her.

"I should have accepted Fury's offer of a SHIELD escort," she said.

"He wanted to send someone with us?" Steve asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"He said we should take a Quinjet, but I didn't want to do this SHIELD's way."

"We'll be careful," he assured her, but he was feeling nervous now too. The older woman who had sat next to Aspen on the plane was sitting a few seats away, still knitting. Maybe it was just a coincidence that the two men were on the same flight. The one he had made eye contact with sat a few rows away, pulling out a newspaper and scanning it.

Steve was relieved when they were allowed to board. This plane was smaller than the last with two seats on one side and three on the other. They were on the side with two. This time Steve let Aspen have the window seat. He pulled out his sketchpad as soon as the plane was in the air and continued working on something he had started right after New York. Aspen peered over at what he was drawing.

"Wow," she said, and he felt a surge of pride. "Who is that?" She leaned over to get a closer look. The pen drawing depicted a scene from New York. A girl leaned across an overturned taxi, taking a child's hand to help her.

"Can't you guess?" he asked. She frowned, looking confused. "It's you," he told her finally. "Clint told me about how you saved all those people who were trapped behind the taxi."

"Oh!" She put a hand to her mouth, looking surprised that he would draw such a thing. "It didn't quite happen like that."

"You don't like it?"

"Of course I like it!" she amended. "I just mean, I wasn't all that helpful. I just sort of ran around crazily and the Chitauri chased me."

"Well, whatever you did, a dozen people lived because of it." He smiled at the look on her face. "You don't give yourself enough credit. In fact, whenever we got together – the Avengers, that is–" he lowered his voice at this "–you always edged away like you weren't a part of it, of _us_."

"That's because I'm not," she said quickly. "I'm not a hero."

"Why not?" he asked.

She looked up at him in consternation. "I'm just not," she replied.

"Well, I think you are," he said. "And I'm Captain America, so that settles the matter."

She gaped at him for a moment as if she couldn't believe he'd just used that as justification for taking his word. Then a smile broke out over her face, and she began to laugh. She clutched his arm, trying not to make a scene. "I guess that settles it," she said between laughs. "I've never seen you embrace your title like that before," she added when her laughter had subsided.

He grinned. "I have to use my authority where I see fit. But in all seriousness, you could have stayed out of it, but you came. You fought because your friends' lives were on the line, because you thought you had a chance of stopping Loki. You put your life in danger to help strangers. That's a hero, Aspen."

She blushed, looking down at her hands. "Is that really how you see me?" she asked quietly.

"It is."

She was quiet for a moment and then, so softly he could hardly hear her, "Loki said the same thing. When I spoke to him that morning before he left with Thor."

"He called you a hero?" Steve was surprised. He had come to the understanding that Aspen had felt something toward the demi-god, but he hadn't seriously considered that Loki had felt something real for Aspen. Maybe he had been wrong. The bite of jealousy he tasted surprised him.

"He said that because I'm willing to fight for good that makes me a hero. That was my definition of a hero – someone who fights for good. I didn't mean myself."

"Maybe he's less crazy than I thought," Steve said.

"He's not crazy," Aspen defended quickly. "Just," she softened her tone, "misunderstood?" Steve bit his lip, not wanting to argue with her on the subject. "I know no one else is going to see it that way. I guess I just understood him. He lost his family like me, was looking for acceptance. He just went about it in a destructive way. He didn't think asking nicely was going to get him anywhere. He all but admitted he had feelings for me too." She wouldn't meet his eyes. Steve realized he was clenching his pen so tightly that his knuckles were white. He loosened his grip. Aspen noticed the motion.

"Well that I can get," he said.

Aspen finally looked up at him. "What?"

"I can get why he would like you," he completed his thought, his cheeks warming at his words. Aspen blushed too and looked away again. "You were the only one who kept giving him second chances." Aspen frowned, and he realized that hadn't come out sounding right. "I mean, you're the one person who tried to understand him, to help him."

"And came out looking a fool for it."

"I don't think that," he told her. When she didn't look at him, he touched her arm. "Hey, you know I'd never think that about you."

"I know," she said, but she still wouldn't look at him. He wanted to kick himself for upsetting her, but he knew her emotions were on overdrive right now what with everything going on in her life. He sat back and let her be. Finally she turned and looked at his drawing. "Will you finish it?" she asked quietly. He smiled.

"Of course."

"I wonder if I'd look good in a cape…"

Steve grinned. "There's only one way to find out." He continued sketching, adding in a flowing cape that cascaded around the sketched Aspen. He watched as her grin grew. Finally he finished and handed the drawing to her. "What do you think?"

She nodded resolutely. "I'm putting a request in," she said. "You get your shield, Clint gets his bow, _I'm_ getting a cape."


	4. Portland

**Author's Note: **Okay, done with part one, so I'm going to post a little more frequently. I have no words for _The Winter Soldier_. I went to see it again yesterday. I could just watch it on repeat for like a month straight. (Or just forever.) I LOVE it. It made a lot more sense this time since I'd seen the first one. I actually felt the emotions when he is talking to Peggy and when he realizes it's Bucky. (So many emotions!) Before I was just like, who the hell is Bucky? Yeah, so much more I understood. I wrote with my best friend after that and the ideas were flowing! I was thinking about the possiblity of writing Steve's conversation with Peggy from his point of view. I think I would cry. Okay, I'll quit rambling on about the movie. (Which needs to be on dvd like now.)

I quote Robert Frost for a line or two, so I will cite that as "Ghost House." My _favorite_ Robert Frost poem of all time. You need to go read it if you haven't before.

Thank you as always for everything! Feel free to leave a review on the way out. Enjoy!

* * *

**3 – Portland – May 11, 2012**

When the plane finally landed at the Portland International Airport, Aspen was both exhausted and jittery. She practically jumped out of her seat when the plane stopped. Steve caught her as she tripped out of the aisle on numb legs and feet. "Sorry, my feet fell asleep," she said as he righted her. She was hyperaware of his hands on her waist and back, but he removed them almost at once. Always the gentleman. They retrieved their bags and shuffled their way off the plane. They took a left and followed the other passengers toward the front doors of the airport. It was raining lightly when they alighted on the sidewalk outside. Aspen hailed a taxi and they stowed their duffle bags in the trunk before getting into the back. Aspen gave him the address of the Sunflower House, and he pulled away from the curb. She was feeling more and more nervous by the minute. It must have shown because Steve took her hand, entwining her fingers with his. She threw him a grateful smile and didn't let go of his hand as the taxi took them into the city. He eventually turned west, taking them into an older residential neighborhood. Aspen started craning her neck, wondering if she'd know the house on sight. It had been so long. She knew it would look nothing like the picture Steve had drawn her – not anymore. It was currently uninhabitable which could mean any number of things – collapsed roof, rickety foundation, gas leak.

After a time, Aspen noticed that there were quite a few abandoned looking houses. Several had foreclosure signs posted in the overgrown front yards. When they came to the end of the block, Aspen let out a low gasp.

There it was sitting alone like a solemn sentinel, guarding unspoken mysteries and long lost memories. The yellow paint was peeling and rain-washed, but some of its former charm could still be seen in the wilting porch and faded lattice. The aspen tree still stood, a little taller than Aspen remembered, a little more ragged like a solider that had seen too many wars. But it still stood, white bark grey with age.

The driver pulled over at the curb, and Aspen's hand went to the door handle before the car had even stopped. She asked the driver to wait and headed out into the rain. It had slowed to a drizzle, but she could feel her hair dampening under the fine mist. She pulled up the collar to her jacket. Steve pulled his baseball cap onto his head, and Aspen wished she had her usual black cap. It was in her duffle bag though.

They walked silently up to the front door. The porch groaned under their weight but held. Aspen had the key and used it now. The door wouldn't give at first, the lock rusty and stiff. Finally she managed to unlock it and opened the front door with a low, prolonged groan. The interior looked as if Aspen's family had just up and left. Which they probably had, she realized. They stepped into the dusty living room, looking around in the dimness of the dreary daylight. Aspen felt memories rushing into her head with such speed that she couldn't grasp one before another replaced it. She stood in the middle of the living room, finding herself quite speechless. Steve went over to the mantle and pulled down a dusty photo. He rubbed his palm over it, smearing some of the dust away. Aspen walked over, looking around his arm. It was a picture of Aspen with her parents and her aunt. They looked happy, each of them smiling. Aspen couldn't have been more than two years old at the time. She reached out a hand and touched the dusty glass.

"It's all sitting here like its stuck in time," she said softly. "But time has moved on without it."

"I know the feeling," Steve said, carefully replacing the frame. Aspen blinked, her eyes suddenly moist. She turned away, looking around the room. The window on the west side of the house was broken and a cold draft of air came in. The floor was warped and wet where the rainwater hit it. Aspen wanted to block the elements from entering her house, but she realized it was no longer her house. Nature was starting to take it back like something out of a Robert Frost poem. How did it go? _I dwell with a strangely aching heart/In that vanished abode there far apart… _She tore her eyes away from the broken window and ventured into the kitchen. She could tell at once that the backdoor had been forced open some time ago probably by vagrants or squatters. It felt like a violation to her, but no one had lived here for a very long time. Eighteen years, she realized. She turned twenty-two on the eve of summer.

The carpet on the stairs leading up to the second story was soggy and threadbare. Aspen tread gently as she made her way up, running her hand along the worn banister. She saw ghost hands of her child self running her palms down the banister as she raced up and down the stairs. She took the bend and finished the last few stairs coming to a short hallway that led off to two bedrooms and a bathroom. She stood on the landing for a long while until she heard Steve come up behind her. He didn't say anything, but his presence gave her the confidence she needed to walk on. She opened the door to her parents' bedroom first. The closet doors were open and clothing hung limply from dusty hangers. The bed was unmade as if they had left in great haste. Several dusty bottles of perfume were still on the vanity against one wall. Aspen lifted one up to smell it, shutting her eyes as she was reminded of her mother. Tears stung her eyes, but she wiped them away, setting the bottle down. She wordlessly left the room and headed to the last door. It was open a crack, and she pushed it forward, entering her childhood room.

It was just as she remembered it with a layer of dust and grime coating everything that had once been so clean and white. Most of her toys were still there, some sitting on the dusty bed covers, others lined up on her dresser. She picked up a doll she remembered playing with day after day, inviting her mother and father to have tea parties with her and the doll. By then her parents had already started working for SHIELD, had already met Joseph Danners. Had they ever really had a normal life? The thought that she'd never had a normal life was what finally cracked her. She stood, tears running silently down her cheeks until she felt arms wrapping themselves around her. She turned and pressed herself against Steve, burying her face in his shirt.

"It's surreal," she said finally. "It's like they're going to walk through the door at any moment, smiling and greeting me like nothing ever changed. Now I realize that life was a dream – it wasn't real. None of it was real because they had already set their fates. They had already started working on the Superhero Serum. There was nothing anyone could do to stop this from happening."

"We'll find them," Steve told her. Aspen smiled up at him realizing that if she had a normal life, she never would have met him. There was nothing normal about him and yet being around him was the most normal thing she had right now.

"I think I'd like to check into a hotel now," Aspen said. "We'll come back later to search for clues."

They walked back to the taxi together, and Aspen instructed the driver to take them to the nearest nice hotel. She frowned as she glanced out the back window to take a last glance at the Sunflower House. A black car that had been parked on the curb was pulling away slowly. She didn't remember the car being there when they entered the house. She tried to shake her discomfort, but after a few blocks, the car was still following them.

The taxi pulled over at a Best Western, and Aspen paid him for his service while Steve got their bags out of the trunk. He shouldered both and followed her into the hotel. Aspen looked discreetly behind them. The black car drove slowly past. "What's wrong?" Steve asked, noticing her worry.

"We're being followed," she said. She headed toward a back door to the hotel, bypassing the main desk.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"To another hotel," she told him, pushing the doors open and leading out into the rain again. They walked several blocks before Aspen hailed a taxi and directed the driver to take them to another hotel at least a mile away. He stopped at a Hilton, and they got out. Aspen was satisfied they hadn't been followed this time. She and Steve walked up to the front desk, and she booked them a single room with two queen-sized beds. She wasn't taking any chances with them being separated. It was nearly five, but Aspen was exhausted. She was also starving. As soon as she unlocked the door to their room, she picked up the phone and ordered room service.

"I'm going to take a hot shower while we're waiting for dinner to come," she told Steve. She grabbed her PJs and headed into the bathroom. The hot water washed away the grime from the Sunflower house and the tear streaks on her cheeks. She felt like all she'd done lately was cry. What was wrong with her? She'd spent her whole life being tough and now that her past was coming back to her, she was suddenly a mess. Maybe she was making up for lost time. Or maybe she was beginning to chip away at the shell she'd built around herself blocking off all those emotions and memories.

She pulled on her pajamas – a camisole top and plaid flannel shorts. Steve was sitting on the end of one of the beds, flipping through channels on the TV. He looked up when she reentered the room, eyes widening when he saw her. She realized a moment later that no woman in the 1940s – no respectable woman – would be caught dead in so little clothing. She blushed at once even though there was nothing indecent about her PJs in the 21st century. "Umm," she didn't know where to go from there. "I hope you don't think– I mean…" Steve tore his eyes away, his cheeks reddening. Aspen sat down across from him on the other bed. "You might have noticed that girls' hemlines have gotten higher and shirts much lower… I didn't think that it might come across as immodest," she said, taking another stab at an explanation. Really she was just embarrassing both of them further.

He looked over at her, carefully keeping his eyes on her face. "I know you'd never be immodest," he said. He looked a little nervous, and Aspen realized that sharing a room with a girl was probably another thing men from his time didn't do. Respectable men like him anyway. She was just getting everything wrong that night. She got up and pulled her brush out of her bag, running it through her wet hair.

"Your back…" Steve sounded alarmed. She realized that the camisole she was wearing showed another scar she'd received in her time at ARTIFACT. She'd almost blocked that memory, almost. She felt rather than heard Steve get up. "It's just a token from my past," she assured him, not meeting his eyes. "I was escaping with something I'd stolen from smugglers and I had to go under a fence. I didn't realize that there was a loose bit of wire. It made a pretty deep cut. I thought I was going to bleed out before I managed to get back to headquarters. That was a long time ago. We all have our scars," she said. "Some we can see, some we can't." She was beginning to wish she'd put on an oversized T-shirt. She hadn't meant to make a spectacle of herself. She turned around to face him. He was hovering close as if he didn't quite know what to do with himself. His blue eyes were bright.

"It's not fair that you've suffered through so much," he told her. "You're so young and yet you've been through so much."

"You went to war," she reminded him. "You know much more pain and suffering than me."

"I wish I could promise that we'd never see suffering again, never feel pain, but somehow I don't think that's possible," he said. "But I will do everything I can to protect you, to make sure you don't get hurt like that again."

Aspen was taken aback. No one had ever spoken to her like that, sworn to protect her. She'd never thought she needed protecting before and maybe she still didn't, but knowing that someone cared about her enough to do so was a revelation to her. She found that her heart was beating far more quickly than usual. She couldn't read the look in Steve's eyes, couldn't tell what he was thinking. He took a step closer to her, and she caught her breath.

Then there was a knock on the door. They sprang apart as if someone had fired a shot at them. Aspen blushed furiously, refusing to look at Steve. She practically sprinted to the door, opening it to find their dinner waiting. She took the tray, setting it down on the table before digging in her bag for a tip. When the door was shut and they were alone again, Aspen felt awkward, not knowing what to say or what had almost happened. She forced herself to look at Steve. He appeared to be feeling the same because he wouldn't meet her eyes.

They ate dinner quietly, Steve looking at a pamphlet of Portland that was sitting on the table and Aspen idly watching the news on the TV. As they were getting ready for bed, Aspen thought back to her childhood bedroom. Under all the dust was the place of comfort she had gone to every night for the first three years of her life. Where her mother had tucked her into bed and her father had read to her. It was hard to believe that such simple things made her so happy, so safe and comfortable. Then again… She looked over at Steve who had changed into a set of pajamas and was sitting against the pillow on his bed, looking down at the pamphlet on Portland again. She couldn't help but notice the muscles in his arms. Usually he was wearing a long-sleeved button up shirt or his leather jacket. She'd only seen him in a T-shirt several times. She wasn't sure why she was noticing this now. She pulled the covers back and climbed into the bed, curling up and letting her exhaustion overwhelm her. It was only seven-thirty, but she was already feeling sleepy. Steve finally set aside the pamphlet and pushed down the covers, lying down on his back with his hands folded across his stomach.

"I keep having nightmares every night," Aspen said.

Steve turned his head to look at her. "About New York? Or about Loki?" he asked softly.

"New York. I haven't dreamed of Loki since I spoke with him. How long am I going to keep dreaming about it?" she asked in a whisper.

"It might take awhile, but eventually the worst of it will fade. If you ever need to talk – sometimes keeping it all inside just leaves it to fester and grow. I know."

"You said you still dream about the war?"

"Sometimes, yeah. Sometimes I dream that I'm in Schimdt's lab and that he's experimenting on me. Or that I'm on the Valkyrie and I can't change its course. The bombs drop and head straight toward New York and Chicago… Or sometimes I dream about that mission on the train when Bucky fell, when I couldn't get to him in time… Every once in awhile he'll still be alive, I'll reach out and grab his hand and pull him back into the train. I'm so relieved that he's safe." His eyes were distant as he spoke. "But then I wake up and realize that it was only a dream. The disappointment I feel, the sadness…"

"That must be crushing."

"It is when I realize he's still dead." His blue eyes rose to meet hers. "Sometimes remembering that I'm still alive can be difficult…having to live each day remembering those I lost."

"Every day is a gift. I've learned that ever since Clint saved my life. I could have made a career out of working for ARTIFACT and lived every day doing Danners's dirty work. I could have been murdered or killed on a mission. I'm still here though, despite it all. Living the life I've had makes me realize that it's a feat just staying alive and staying sane."

Steve didn't speak, but she could see his thoughts flitting behind his eyes. There was a sadness there that went deeper than she had realized. She had taken him away from everything familiar to him. Now she was all he had. He had given up the life he'd made for himself in the last three weeks to follow her into the unknown. That meant more to her than she could say. Before she could decide whether or not to tell him, her eyes had drifted shut, and she was sleeping peacefully.


	5. Ghost House

**4 – Ghost House – May 12, 2012**

In her dreams the house was taken over by the wild, nature returning to reclaim every crack and crevice it could find a way in through. Aspen was walking up the overgrown pathway past the aspen tree that stood pale as a ghost. The front door opened as the porch protested under her feet. A light was on in the room and as Aspen entered, the room transformed into the clean, happy environment she had grown up in.

"Aspen, come join us," her mother said, looking up from where she sat on the floor. She and Aspen's father were settled around the coffee table in front of the fireplace working on a jigsaw puzzle. Aspen stood in the doorway, mouth agape. Her parents were just the same as she remembered, her mother with her long, flowing red hair and sparkling green eyes, her father with his dark hair and deep brown eyes. They both smiled invitingly at her until she came forward and crouched at the table.

"We can't seem to find all the edge pieces," her mother told her. "We can't keep everything together without those pieces. The whole thing will fall apart."

Aspen ran her fingers over the puzzle pieces noting something odd about them. Every piece had bits of a formula written on it. She looked up to give her parents a questioning look. Her mother held a finger up to her lips. "The pieces can't be put back in the box together," she told Aspen conspiratorially. "You have to break them up first. You don't want to make it too easy on the next person to try to solve it."

"But what if I can't find them all?" Aspen asked as her parents stood, leaving her alone with the puzzle.

"Everything you need, you have," her mother told her, still backing away. Aspen could no longer see her father. Her mother disappeared from sight.

"Wait! Don't go!" Aspen got to her feet and ran after her parents. They weren't in the kitchen. They must have gone upstairs. As she ran up the stairs, she noticed that the house was beginning to decay around her. The wallpaper began to peel away from the walls, and the carpet bared its threads before her. She reached the landing and looked around her. There was a light on in her childhood bedroom. Aspen took a step forward and then another, reaching out a hand to push the door open wider. She heard a giggle from the bed and looked over to see a young girl brushing her favorite doll's hair. The girl looked up at Aspen with green eyes, and Aspen realized it was a younger version of herself.

"What happened to you?" the younger version of herself asked.

"What do you mean?" Aspen asked in return.

"All those scars…"

Aspen looked down at her arms to see that they were covered in scars. Every inch of her bare skin was white and lined. She gasped, backing away as if she could escape her own arms.

"I'm frightened," the younger version of herself said. "Is that going to happen to me?" Aspen looked up, shaking her head. "Don't lie!" the little girl said. She threw the doll on the floor. "Mommy!" she screamed. The scream echoed in Aspen's head until she had to put her hands over her ears. The girl stood and seemed to transform before her very eyes. Now standing in front of her was Joseph Danners. Suddenly she was holding a gun and blood was blossoming out of a wound in his chest. He looked down at it and when he looked back up it was Aspen's mom that she was looking at. She put a hand to the wound and the blood stained the pale skin of her palm. Aspen's mom slumped to the floor.

"No, no!" Aspen screamed. "Mom!" She threw herself on the floor beside her mother, but her skin was ice cold to the touch as if she had been dead for ages. She had though, hadn't she? She'd died when Aspen was three. This was all an illusion. The room began to rot around her, the walls baring her to the biting air. She lay down on the floor next to her mother, letting the blood pool around her, soaking into her skin and her clothes.

"Aspen?" The voice that spoke was not her mother or her father. She opened her eyes to look up at the star-spangled sky. "Hey, you're dreaming."

She blinked her eyes open and the dream faded along with the starry sky. It was replaced by two worried blue eyes. "Steve?"

"You were crying out in your sleep," he told her, his voice groggy as if she had woken him up.

"I was in the Sunflower House," she said, sitting up a little. He was sitting on the edge of her bed. "It was a strange dream." She began to relay what she had dreamt to him, pausing at the end when she remembered what had happened in her old room. She finally got the courage to say it out loud. Steve listened quietly, hands folded in his lap. "It was just as disturbing as my dreams of New York if not more so," she said.

"It was just a dream, but I know how real dreams can feel."

She nodded. "Sorry to wake you," she said.

He shook his head. "Don't apologize," he told her. "Are you alright to go back to sleep?"

"I'll try." Steve smiled before returning to his own bed. Aspen shut her eyes, but images of her mother falling to the floor of the bedroom kept filling her mind. She tossed and turned, but she couldn't let go of the nightmare. Finally she sat back up, staring into the darkness of the room. She'd never been afraid of the dark before, but right now she could feel the oppressive weight of the dark. She glanced over at Steve, but she couldn't tell if he was asleep again or not. She was beginning to feel trapped with the walls of her own memories pressing in around her. She got out of her bed and moved over to Steve's bed, throwing caution to the wind and slipping under the blankets next to him like a child during a thunderstorm. He seemed to half wake enough to move over, giving her enough room to huddle next to him, head buried under his chin. He moved to wrap an arm around her. Aspen nodded off to sleep, Steve's closeness keeping her nightmares at bay. Whatever reserves they'd had earlier, whatever awkwardness, was now replaced by their mutual need for closeness whether they understood why they felt this or not. Neither was bothered by nightmares the rest of the night though the residual loneliness of the Sunflower House chased Aspen through her dreams.

…

When Steve awoke, he became fully aware that at some point during the night Aspen had crawled in beside him, curling up against him. His left arm was draped over her, and her head was tucked against his shoulder. Her red curls were splayed out across his shirt, and in sleep she looked more peaceful than she had been in a long time. It struck him that he should feel completely nervous. He was sleeping next to a girl after all. He'd barely kissed a girl let alone been this close to one before. He knew that times had changed and boundaries had come down, but he couldn't help the twinge of nerves at her closeness. He didn't quite know how to act around her sometimes, but he felt comfortable around her in a way that made him decide it didn't matter that they overstepped the boundaries he was used to.

As he looked down at Aspen now, his heart picked up a beat. She was so similar to Peggy and yet her own unique person. She was strong and confident like Peggy was, but there was a vulnerable side to her he had never seen in Peggy. Aspen had been forced to fend for herself most of her life but sometimes she needed someone to give her a helping hand, to help her get through the nightmares and bad memories. That she had chosen him to be this person to help her meant more to him than he could say. _She_ meant more to him than he could say.

The revelation struck him then and there as she slept beside him. Aspen wasn't like any other girl he'd ever met. She had never looked at him like he was someone different despite the fact that he was, in fact, very different. She'd just accepted him the way he was when that was what he needed most. She'd been his friend from the start, taking an interest in his life and his well-being. She cared about him as he cared about her. He cared very much for her, he realized. More than he had realized. He reached his left hand up and brushed a strand of her hair away from her face. She stirred, unconsciously lifting her own hand to meet his. Her green eyes opened, and she smiled slowly at him as she blinked away sleep. She let go of his hand as if realizing for the first time she had taken it.

"Sorry," she said at once. "I didn't mean to be such a child last night. I just kept seeing my dream over and over. Even the corners of the room were beginning to frighten me. I'm turning into a nervous wreck."

He was feeling like a nervous wreck suddenly. This was Aspen though. He'd never felt this nervous around her before. "It's alright," he managed to get out.

Aspen laid her head back on the pillow, freeing up his shoulder. He gave her a little space, hoping she didn't think he was being awkward. The clock on the bedside table read 7:25. "I was thinking about the dream you had last night," he said carefully after a time.

"Oh?"

"What you were saying about your parents working on a puzzle. What your mom said."

"'The pieces can't be put back in the box together. You have to break them up first. You don't want to make it too easy on the next person to try to solve it,'" Aspen quoted. "You think she was referring to the different components of the formula?"

"Why not? Your subconscious was thinking about what we're trying to find. It makes sense."

She sat up and nodded. "That does. My parents serum was trying to harness the undiscovered skills and instincts of the parts of the brain we don't use, but the subconscious is already a powerful part of the mind. It was telling me to look at this like a puzzle. My parents scattered their work on purpose. What my aunt had was just the rudimentary foundations for their work. If Danners did sell some of the papers to some enemy organization, then it might be possible to replicate. My parents were brilliant scientists, but they aren't alone in the world. But if they hid something vital, only they would have known after years of research… A lot of people have tried to replicate the Super Soldier Serum after all and a few of those attempts went really wrong. No one else succeeded." He realized she must be thinking of Bruce Banner. "Clearly they're missing a vital element."

"I'm not sure what was in it," Steve admitted.

"Did they plan on only using the serum on you?" she asked. He noticed her eyes brushed over the muscles on his arms before returning to his face. He crossed his arms over his chest, feeling self-conscious. Sometimes he forgot he wasn't still the skinny boy he had been before all of this. It was hard to get used to a completely new body even if he'd had it for years now.

"No, they meant to make an army of Super Soldiers. They were supposed to march against the Nazis. That never happened though. Somehow one of Schmidt's men got into the lab. He set off an explosion after Doctor Erskine injected me with the serum and then shot the doctor. He stole the last vial of serum, but I managed to catch up to him. The serum vial broke, and he ended up taking a cyanide tablet before I could get any answers out of him. He was working for Hydra, that's all I knew. Without the serum and without Doctor Erskine, I became the only successful experiment." He hated that word. He wasn't a lab experiment; he was a person. "The Army didn't want one man, they wanted an army, so I was given the option of going into a lab to be experimented on or selling war bonds as Captain America."

"And thus the legend was born. I bet they regretted not taking you into the Army right away after you saved those soldiers."

"Maybe so. It wasn't ever about proving anything for me. It was about serving my country like the other men out there. I didn't want to sit at home while people were laying down their lives." He looked up at Aspen to find her staring at him with a look he couldn't read on her face. "What?" he asked.

"You! You're just so…" She seemed to struggle for the word. "Good. Not a lot of people are as willing as you to just lay down their lives. I've said it before. Just the way you talk… It's one of the things I love about you."

His mind got hung up on her last words. _One of the things_ _I love about you_. She must have said something else because she said his name several times before his mind kicked back in and processed what she was saying.

"When did you want to head out?" she asked.

"Whenever you're ready," he said, feeling a little flustered. Why was he suddenly so nervous around her? Maybe it was her proximity. As they sat up, their legs touched and he was fully aware of how little he'd been around women in his life.

"I know it will look different in the daylight, but I keep seeing my dream over and over," Aspen said. "It took this pure and happy image I had of my childhood home and broke that down until it was ruined."

"Sometimes the happiest of memories only exist in the memories themselves," he said, thinking back to Peggy. "In reality whatever goodness you were clinging onto is gone, but if the memory is still there then you still have it."

"With lives like ours, we can't really rely on things sticking around, can we?" she asked.

"I guess not. But I hope that will change." It occurred to him that he couldn't stand the thought of not being around Aspen. She'd become such a big part of his life. He couldn't imagine a day without her. Even on the few days they hadn't seen each other in the last week, she had called him or texted him. The thought of losing her or even being apart from her was like a physical pain. She was the anchor he was clinging to in this new life.

Aspen nodded. "I'm going to get dressed. They serve breakfast downstairs and then we can head out." She got up and grabbed some clothes before heading into the bathroom. Steve tossed on his clothes and waited for Aspen to get ready. When she emerged from the bathroom they walked down to get breakfast together. The other guests cast them a lot of looks as they passed through the line, so they took their bagels and cream cheese packs outside and ate them as they walked toward the Sunflower House.

The house looked less lonely in the morning. The rain had stopped overnight and the sun was showing itself, bringing out the curling edges of yellow paint that still remained. Aspen stopped at the aspen tree in the front yard, running her hands over the bark. If her parents had taken the bark they'd sent her from this tree, it had long ago healed over. The bark, though weathered, was flawless and showed no signs of tampering. Steve kept watch on the surrounding streets while Aspen studied the tree, keeping his senses alert for anyone who might be watching them. The street was quiet though.

"Here!" Aspen cried out, and Steve turned around to see her slipping her fingers into a slot on the side of the tree. "There was a secret panel." She pulled her fingers out and held up a long brass key.

"What does it go to?" he asked.

"I don't know." Aspen frowned. "Wait, I remember how the basement always used to be off limits. Dad said it was for work. I bet they kept some equipment down there. There might even be a computer. And I bet there's a locked door that only this key opens."

"It's worth checking out."

They entered the house again, Aspen unlocking the door. Despite the backdoor having been forced open, she'd still locked the front door before leaving the day before. He saw Aspen's hesitation as they entered. He wanted to reach out to comfort her, but she moved into the next room, reaching out to open a door in the kitchen that he hadn't noticed before. They peered down into a gaping dark hole that led down into the basement. "The electricity has been turned off, so we'll have to use my phone," Aspen said, taking out her phone. Steve had no idea what she meant, but a moment later a light streamed from the tip of her phone like a flashlight. Aspen put a hand on the banister and started down the stairs. They groaned under her slight weight, and Steve hesitated to follow.

"I think it's-" Whatever Aspen was going to say was cut off by a tremendous groan and then the sound of splintering wood. Aspen's eyes widened before the stairs gave way, too rotten to hold. Aspen went tumbling downward with a gasp.

"Aspen!" Steve tried to grab her, but it happened so quickly. One second she was there, the next she wasn't. For a second he was reminded of Bucky falling before he could reach him. The light bounced as the cell phone hit the ground. It left a shallow circle of light, but he couldn't see Aspen at all. "Aspen!" he called out again. He cursed the lack of light.

"I'm alright," he heard Aspen call up to him, her voice muffled. She coughed. He imagined it was dusty down there especially after the stairs collapsing. "I think I hurt my leg though. I landed hard."

"Hang on, I'm coming down," he told her.

"There might be a flashlight in the kitchen cupboard," Aspen told him. "Check there."

Steve ran into the kitchen, pulling open the cupboard doors. He finally found an old flashlight in one of the drawers. He was relieved when it flickered on. It dimly illuminated the broken stairs. He looked down further and saw the vague outline of Aspen lying on the floor of the basement. He judged the distance down and decided to leap instead of trying the stairs. He took a deep breath and jumped, landing with a thump on the basement floor. He went over to Aspen at once, setting down the flashlight so that he could see her and crouching down at her side. She looked up at him, hair coated in dust. She groaned.

"My leg is killing me," she told him. "I should have seen that coming."

"Can you sit up?" he asked.

"I'll try," she said, pushing herself up with her hands and sliding her legs so that they were in front of her. The pain was visible on her face. "How are we going to get back out again?" she asked him. He looked back up at the stairs. That wasn't going to be easy. Aspen certainly wasn't going to be doing any climbing.

"We'll worry about that later." He looked around the basement, using the flashlight as a guide. "There," he said, pointing. A solid metal door stood along a wall, out of place in such a house. Aspen held the key out to him, grabbing her cell phone from where it lay on the ground. Steve brought the key to the door and inserted it. It was a little sticky from years of disuse, but it turned and the door gave a resounding click as it unlocked. He looked back at Aspen. "Can you walk?"

"I can try." He helped her get to her feet. She leaned her weight on his arm, trying to avoid stepping on her injured leg for too long. Steve reached out and opened the door. Their light flooded another set of stairs – this time solid concrete – that led straight down into darkness.

"Fun. Wow. This is just what I imagined doing," Aspen said. "I had no idea my house had a creepy subbasement."

"It's almost like a bunker," Steve said. "Built to withstand just about anything."

"I feel like if I try to walk down those stairs I am going to die or fall or both." He could hear the frustration in her voice.

"Let me see what's at the bottom. I can come back and carry you down." By the way she bit her lip, he could tell she didn't like the idea of being carried down the stairs, but she gave a nod after a minute.

"Okay," she said. "Be careful."

Steve aimed the flashlight down the stairs and took them slowly. At the bottom of the ten stairs, another metal door was illuminated. The same key fit when he tried it and he pushed it open to find a room filled with scientific equipment. Dust swirled up as the door swung inward. Everything was layered in a thick coating of dust, but at least that told them no one had found their way in here since 1994. He returned up to the basement to tell Aspen what he had found.

"Did you see a computer anywhere?" she asked eagerly.

"Come see for yourself." She obliged as he scooped her up, carefully lifting her down the stairs while she held the flashlight out before them. He set her back on her feet within the room, and she stood taking the lab in, eyes eager. She scanned the room with the flashlight and stopped when the light hit a computer. It was different from the sleek laptop SHIELD had given Steve and the one Aspen used. It was shaped more like a box and had a separate keyboard.

"There," Aspen said. "My parents would have had a generator down here to keep everything working even during a power outage." She kept moving the flashlight around the room. "There!" She stopped at a large piece of equipment. "See that red lever?" she asked. Steve nodded. "Pull that down and see what happens." She kept the light trained on the machine while Steve went over and pulled the lever. Electricity thrummed and the light overhead flickered on.

"Well that would have been useful sooner," Aspen said. There was a beep across the room, and they looked over to see that the computer had turned on. A bar flashed onto the screen asking for a password. Aspen let out a curse that surprised Steve. She laughed at the look of alarm on his face. "Sorry. Will you help me over there?"

He nodded, putting an arm around her waist. She put her arm over his shoulder, and they walked over to the chair in front of the old computer. Aspen sat down and stared at the screen. "Password, password." She began to type. She hit 'enter,' but a message came up telling her that it was an invalid password. She kept typing, chewing on her lip while she tried password after password.

"Damnit!" she shouted after the tenth password she tried. "Why lead me all this way, nearly to my death, just to have me run into a dead end?"

"Did they leave a clue about the password anywhere?" he asked.

"All I have is this." Aspen pulled a scrap of paper from her pocket. Steve recognized it as the address on the package Aspen had received ten years late.

"What about Clause, Indiana?" he asked.

"Doesn't exist."

"Would that be a password?" he asked.

She tried it, but it came up as invalid. "Why would they address it to a city that doesn't exist?" she asked. "Unless it's code like the coordinates. My parents loved puzzles. I'm rubbish at that sort of thing though."

"Maybe it's a clue that you would understand. Somehow." He wasn't sure how, but he knew her parents wouldn't have made this impossible.

"I know science, that's about it."

"Would the letters stand for anything in scientific terms?" he asked.

Aspen was quiet for a long moment. Then she looked up at him, eyes wide. "What did you just say?" she asked.

"I asked if the letters could stand for anything in scientific terms."

"That's it!" She pulled a pen out of her jacket pocket and started scribbling on the page. Steve looked down to see what she was writing.

Clause, IN

_Cl, Au, Se, In_

_Chlorine, Gold, Selenium, Indium_

_17-79-34-49_

"The table of elements! They're elemental symbols! They each coordinate with the number of the element." She looked so excited in that moment that Steve had to grin. She typed the numbers into the computer. 'Access granted' the screen read before taking her to another screen. She took the floppy disk out of her pocket and inserted it into a slot on the computer. A message reading: 'Recognized location, accessing files' lit up the screen. Files popped up a moment later, and Aspen bent closer to the computer, eyes taking in everything.

"This is…this is incredible," she said.

"What is it?"

"My parents work."

"All of it?"

She nodded mutely. "I'm going to transfer this to my phone." She pulled out her phone and a cord, connecting it to the computer. "These old computer aren't meant to have cell phones hooked into them, but this cord will fit into any outlet," Aspen explained. It took nearly ten minutes for all the data to transfer to her phone. She typed a few things into her phone before turning to Steve. "I made the information password protected using SHIELD security, so it should be safe. If you ever need to access the information, the password is the date we met. I figured it was something we'd both know but not many other people would."

Steve blinked. That day would forever remain etched into his mind. He remembered the moment he'd become aware of Aspen standing behind him looking at his sketch of the city. He remembered turning around, on guard and suspicious, the look in her green eyes when she realized she had startled him. At first he'd thought she was just another SHIELD employee who wanted something from him, but then he'd realized she was different. The light in her eyes when she spoke to him, the genuine interest she showed. She actually wanted to get to know Steve, not Captain America. She'd wanted to know the real him. In that moment he'd wanted to know her too.

"I have what I need," Aspen told him. She pulled the floppy disk out and shut down the computer. "Let's get back to the hotel so I can look closer. I need to get some ice for my leg. I can feel it swelling around the ankle." She looked around the windowless room. "This is the part where we have to figure out how to get out of here. Can you just kick down the wall?" He thought she was being serious for a moment until she gave him a small smile.

"There was a window up in the main basement. Small, but I think we should both be able to fit out of it. Let me help you up the stairs." Aspen let him lift her again, putting an arm around his neck. He set her gently down when they reached the top of the stairs and walked over to the window. With a grunt, he forced it open, breaking the lock in the process. He pushed a dusty table under the window. "I'll lift you up, but you're going to have to pull yourself out." She nodded as he walked over and put his arms around her, lifting her onto the table. It wasn't an easy process for Aspen with her hurt leg, but she managed to get out of the window. He followed, barely fitting his broad shoulders through it. When they were both out, they sat on the back lawn for a long time while Aspen collected her breath. Her face was white, and she looked like she was in a lot of pain. "Can you make it back to the hotel?" Steve asked. "Can we call a taxi?"

Aspen nodded, pulling out her phone. She dialed a number and held the phone to her ear. A moment later she gave the address. "Alright. They'll be here soon. Can you help me to the sidewalk?" Steve nodded, helping her up. He grasped her around the waist and she put her arm around his shoulder again. She winced as they walked, but wouldn't let him carry her again. Instead of sitting, she leaned against the aspen tree in the front yard.

"I'm afraid I won't be able to get up again if I sit down," she told him.

"Does it hurt a lot?" he asked her, wishing he could do more to help her.

"Only if I put weight on it or move. And kind of when I just stand here, so yeah. I'll be all right though. I've been through worse." It began to rain a moment later, and Aspen pulled her jacket collar up around her neck. Steve joined her under the tree though the slender branches gave little shelter. "Some vacation, huh?" Aspen joked lightly.

Steve smiled. "If we were planning a vacation, we should have gone somewhere sunny."

Aspen grinned at this. "But we're having so much fun," she said. "Falling down rotting stairs was definitely on my summer to do list right up next to breaking codes."

"You're coated in dust," Steve told her, reaching out to dislodge some dust from her hair. She held still while he helped dust her off.

"Thanks." She gave him a grateful smile. Just then the taxi pulled up, standing out against the grey of the neighborhood. Steve helped Aspen to the car. He could tell that she was trying very hard not to show her pain, but the tightness of her lips and grip on him told him she was in a great deal of pain. The taxi took them back to their hotel, and Steve paid the driver before helping Aspen out of the car. They headed slowly to their room, Aspen pulling out her key as they approached. When they entered, Steve led her over to one of the beds. She sat down with a sigh. She began to relax and then froze. Steve saw the slight change in her posture and went on alert.

"What's wrong?" he whispered.

"Someone's been here," Aspen said quietly.


	6. Moving On

**5 – Moving On – May 12, 2012**

Aspen tensed the moment she saw the window in their hotel room. "What's wrong?" Steve asked softly, seeing her tense.

"Someone's been here," she returned quietly. She indicated the window. It was open a crack, hardly a whisper of the breeze came in, but she knew they hadn't opened it. She went over, hobbling on her hurt foot, and noticed the distressing around the paint on the inside of the window. "It's been forced," she told him. "In their haste to leave they didn't shut it properly. Probably a maid interrupted them."

"Them?" Aspen opened the window and peered out.

"Footprints in the garden bed. Broken limb on the tree outside. There were probably two and they were men. The footprints are deep; the sprinklers had probably just gone off. Rookie spies most likely."

"Did they take anything?" he asked, looking around.

Aspen grabbed her bag from where she'd left it on the dresser and sat down on the bed to rifle through it. "They searched my bag, but I didn't have anything important in it. Everything that would have been valuable to anyone I kept on me. How about you?"

"Yeah," Steve said, looking through his bag. "I just brought clothes and a toothbrush."

"It still makes me feel violated. They found us pretty quickly."

"How do you think they found us?"

"People are easily bribed. A taxi driver might have told them he took us here. The guy at the front desk might have told them that they had a Tolvar staying here. I should have used an assumed name, but I used my credit card. I haven't been trained for this sort of thing. Clint would know what to do, but I just want to keep hotel hopping."

"Can you call him?" Steve asked.

Aspen frowned, pulling out her phone. "If he's not on a mission. I'll try." She dialed his number and waited. The phone went straight to voicemail. "No luck."

"Fury?"

"I'm not getting him involved. I should know how to handle this. Let's just sit tight for now. They didn't find what they were looking for, if they even know what that is, so they'll be back. For now I need to ice my leg. I can feel it swelling." She set her bag on the floor and lay back on her bed.

"What can I do?" Steve asked, concern darting behind his blue eyes.

"There should be an ice machine on the first floor. Can you get me some ice?" she asked.

"Of course."

"And possibly put a pillow under my leg?" she asked, feeling needy. "To elevate the injury."

He grabbed a pillow and gently lifted her leg, setting the pillow beneath it. "Is that comfortable?" he asked.

"Yeah, thank you." Aspen gave him a grateful look. "What would I do without you?" she asked. "I'd still be lying in the basement."

Steve frowned at the thought. "I'm glad I came," he returned. "I'll go get the ice."

Aspen waited while he was gone, feeling a fear she wasn't used to worming its way into her head. What if the men came back while Steve was gone? She couldn't run. She could barely walk. She had to remind herself that Steve was only one floor away. She was surprised by the ferocity of her need to have Steve near. It was like being apart was a physical pain. She feared for him, felt unsafe herself, and missed his constant presence that seemed to quell her anxieties like nothing else. She wasn't used to feeling this about anyone. She'd been very young the last time she'd felt this with her parents, and she had never been close enough to her aunt to feel this way. Clint was a friend and mentor, but he was often away on missions. But Steve… They'd spent almost every spare minute together since he had woken up. She'd gotten so used to his presence that his absence was like a giant gapping hole. When had she become so insecure? Maybe it was at the point when she'd realized she liked having someone there for her, someone to care about her and want to protect her.

Before she could consider further what this all meant, Steve entered the room again, carrying a bag of ice. He got a towel from the bathroom and wrapped the bag of ice before gently setting it on her leg. The relief was instantaneous, and Aspen sighed. "Thank you. Much better."

"Do you need to see a doctor?" he asked, brow furrowed.

"No, I'll be alright. I just shouldn't put weight on it for awhile."

Steve sat down on his bed, folding his hands in his lap. Aspen took out her phone and unlocked the file with all the data she'd downloaded from her parents' computer. She scanned through the files. "This is incredible," she said after a moment. "Here, come sit next to me so you can read too." Steve got up and came to sit next to her on the bed. His shoulder pressed against hers as he peered at the phone screen. Aspen felt hyperaware of his touch as she had on the plane.

"What is it?" Steve asked, and Aspen jerked her attention back to the phone.

"Oh, um, it's my parents research. It's basically a play-by-play of their experiments and the steps they took to create the Superhero Serum. Its proper name is Neurological Potential Stimulus. They had several failed experiments. This was in the early 80s. People were willing to volunteer to be test subjects. Negative effects were loss of memory, temporary loss of hearing, and neurological recalibration."

"Neurological _what_?" Steve asked, sounding confused.

"Basically it reset their brains and memories and everything. They would have to start over."

"And people volunteered to do this? Did they know what the consequences could be?"

"Did you know what the consequences would be before you were injected with the Super Soldier Serum?" Aspen countered. "They were willing to take the risk. It was something they wanted very badly."

"But they never perfected it?"

Aspen scrolled down in the log. "They got close. Toward the end of their entries – these are dated 1994, a few months before the explosion – they start getting vaguer. Here it starts talking about the Immunity Serum they developed. It was like they were creating a safe key in case anyone tried to force the truth out of them. It's smart. If one was kidnapped or something, the immunity would prevent any drugs from forcing them to tell the truth. Clearly they feared something. Why would they inject me with it though? There's no indication that they had any successful attempts. Wait…" She paused in her scrolling. "'Test subjects one and two reacted well to Immunity Serum. Testing Phase Two successful. Immunity to mind control successful. Test subject three injected April 25th, 1994.'" Aspen paused. "There were only three people they tested it on, and I think I know who."

"Who?"

"Themselves and me." Aspen looked up at him. He was frowning.

"They tested it on you?"

"After successfully testing it on themselves." She saw him making an effort not to speak. "I know what you're thinking."

"It's not my place to judge."

"You don't think they should have tested it on a child."

"You were three years old."

"They knew what they were doing." Aspen wasn't sure why she was defending them. "It did work. It saved me a few times. I could have been Loki's chew toy, but it protected me."

The anger behind Steve's eyes at the mention of Loki surprised her. "What else does it say?" he asked stiffly.

"It mentions Joseph Danners a few times. I assume the 'interested party' mentioned early on in their notes is in reference to him when my aunt introduced him to their research." The log was detailed but vague. To an outsider, it would just look like a journal of research experiments but for someone who could interpret the information it was a veritable gold mine. "The last entry is right before they disappeared. 'We are not safe. We've been compromised. We're sending Penny to live with Vi. Grabbing everything we can from the lab. It was never meant to be this way.'" Aspen stopped reading. The pang of desire she felt at the thought of a life where this _hadn't_ happened overwhelmed her. But then she realized she never would have met Clint or Steve or any of the other people who had touched her life for better or for worse.

She took a deep breath and moved onto the next document. It was scribbles and notes in familiar handwriting. "This is my mom's handwriting," she said. "It's her work on the formula. It indicates here that there's another element needed to make the serum work." She frowned. "I don't recognize the symbol." She scrolled down a little further. "Oh my god," she said.

"What?"

"This drawing. Doesn't this look familiar?" Aspen turned the phone toward him.

Steve frowned at the square object that had been colored in blue. "It's the Tesseract," he said.

"The last element needed to get the formula to work comes from the Tesseract. How is that possible though?"

"You said Joseph Danners collected unusual artifacts. Is it possible he got his hands on a Hydra weapon?"

"It's more than possible. He spent so many years acquiring rare objects that it's more than likely he came across something like that. He was probably smuggling even when my parents knew him. Somehow they realized it was the element they needed. It makes sense. I have no idea how you'd extract some of that power, but when Loki used his scepter to take over peoples' minds, according to him, it opened their eyes to a whole new world, a whole new level of knowledge. I'm not sure exactly what he meant by this, but maybe it's what makes it possible to expand the possibilities of the brain."

"But wouldn't Danners know that then? He could have made the formula himself."

"He didn't have their work until he stole it from my aunt. And without all the elements, not even the greatest scientists could recreate it – well, not easily. This was my parents' life work. He might have known about the Tesseract's energy, well, I doubt he knew what it was, but he wouldn't know how to extract it. He might not have even had any of the energy left." She moaned. "There are just too many things to consider. I have no idea what the truth is."

"Do you have enough information now to complete the serum?" he asked.

"I think I know all the elements now, but I have no idea how to extract the Tesseract's energy. I'm sure SHIELD still has some of the Chitauri's weapons. They would have collected them after the battle. I'm sure Fury would give me some to work with. I need to keep looking through the files. There's got to be some procedural notes in here somewhere." She kept scanning. She stopped when she found a file on the Super Soldier Serum. "There's a file on you," she said. "Well, Doctor Erskine's research anyway."

"They didn't try to recreate that too, did they?"

"No, but his research heavily influenced their work. The Superhero Serum has some of the same elements." She frowned as she came to a file on Joseph Danners. She knew most of what was there from SHIELD, but it upset her to look at nonetheless. Why had she worked for him for so long? She shuddered to think what evils she'd aided him in. He'd sold out to a lot of different organizations that were on SHIELD's enemy list. The next file piqued her interest.

"I guess Danners wasn't the only one interested in their research. Somehow some organization called A.I.M. got wind of their research – probably through Danners. They approached my parents, but they refused to work with them. Sounds like nothing came from it. They backed down when my parents said no."

"I read about A.I.M. in Fury's dossier. It stands for Advanced Idea Mechanics. It was founded during World War II and was associated with Hydra. Its members were scientists who focused on developing technology to help overthrow the government. They supplied questionable governments with weapons and technology until SHIELD exposed them as a subversive organization. Since then they've kept quiet, but they're still out there," Steve related.

"Sounds shady. This is interesting…" Aspen scanned the next few notes. "This almost makes it sound as if my parents had another research facility up north." She frowned. "Where did those coordinates indicate?" she asked.

"Everett, Washington?"

"Right. If those were coordinates then maybe my parents had another lab there. I don't know what purpose that would serve, but it's another place to look for clues. Maybe we can find some information about where they hid."

"Are you going to be alright to travel?" Steve asked. "How would we get there anyway?"

"We could rent a car. If you drove, I'd be all right sitting in the passenger seat. It's not that far away."

"When did you want to go? Have we done all we can do here?"

Aspen stopped to consider this. "We just got here. Maybe I shouldn't feel this way, but it feels wrong leaving so soon. Part of me came here to follow the clues, but another part of me wanted to come home."

"We don't have to leave just yet."

Aspen set aside her phone. She didn't want to think about the mess that was her past right now. She sighed. "It doesn't make sense to stick around. The Sunflower House is not…it's not the same. I don't have a life here anymore. I haven't for a really long time. I think I was just clinging onto the idea of having a life, the idea of a happy childhood. Seems like that was all an illusion."

"It wasn't. You have good memories from then. That's not an illusion," he told her.

"It feels like it. Like none of it was real. If it wasn't for the house, I might not believe I'd ever had parents and a place to be happy."

Steve was silent for a moment. "I wish I could change that, give you the happy life you deserve. I guess neither of us had a chance for a normal childhood."

"I'm so wrapped up in myself," Aspen apologized. "I'm sorry. You've been through hardship too. You lost your parents." She looked up at him. His eyes were distant.

"That was a long time ago," he said.

"Not to you – not as many years as it really has been." She touched his hand, and he looked down at her, eyes searching hers for a moment.

"If there's one thing I've learned in this life it's that dwelling on the past does no good," he told her. "After awhile you forget to live in the present. Have you ever considered that digging up the past might not be the best thing for you? I don't want to see you get hurt. Men have already been following us. They broke into our room. We don't know who we're dealing with. This serum is your parents' work, not yours. Maybe it's better off forgotten. I've seen what the Tesseract can do, as have you. Any serum that uses its power can't be all good."

Aspen considered his words knowing that he'd seen first hand what research involving the Tesseract could lead to. It was such a simple suggestion, and she knew he meant it in good will. She'd never considered just leaving the matter alone. The serum had the potential of being very dangerous in the wrong hands. She should just delete the files off her phone and destroy the floppy disk. But could she be happy never knowing what had happened to her parents? Never finding them?

"I don't want this serum to fall into the wrong hands," she told him. "I just want to figure out who has what information on it and then destroy it all for good. I want to find my parents. But I don't want to repeat their mistakes."

"You won't."

"What makes you so sure?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Because you can learn from their mistakes. And you have me. I'm not going to let anything happen to you." He looked so sincere in that moment, that Aspen felt overwhelmed by his support. She smiled, embarrassed to find that her eyes were beginning to water. She cleared her throat and looked away.

"I just want to put this to rest," she said. "I can't just leave it."

"I understand that. I wasn't saying I thought you should just stop. I just wanted to make sure you knew that was an option."

"I hadn't really considered it, but I know what I need to do. We'll rent a car tomorrow and head to Washington. I need to say goodbye to the past, and this is step one. I'm going to put the Sunflower House on the market or turn it over to the bank. Whatever it takes to cut myself loose. When this is all over, I want to start fresh."

"I think that's a great idea. I'm going to do the same."

"So you're going to call Peggy?" She grinned at him.

"Why do you want me to call her so much?" he questioned.

"It's a loose end," she told him. "You cared a lot for her, _do_ care a lot about her. That was a month ago for you. Feelings don't just fade because you've been frozen for over sixty years. And I know she would want to hear your voice."

"It's confusing," he confessed. "I still remember her kissing me before I leapt onto the Valkyrie. I still remember her voice over the radio as I took it down. To wake up and learn that sixty-seven years had passed… I don't know how to feel. I know I need to move on, but like you said, my feelings can't just fade."

"She kissed you right before you took down the Valkyrie?" Aspen asked.

"Yeah." He gave her a questioning look, ears turning pink.

"That's just really adorable," Aspen said with a smile. "Like a movie."

The color rose in Steve's cheeks, but he smiled. "She gave me a hard time up until then. She-er-caught me kissing another girl. Well, the girl kind of threw herself at me. I didn't really know what to do. I'd never really…never been kissed before." He looked flustered.

The idea that Steve hadn't been kissed before that surprised Aspen. She would have thought he'd kissed lots of girls, but he'd told her before that girls had never paid him much attention before the serum. "Peggy got jealous?" Aspen asked with a knowing smile.

"I tried to explain that it hadn't meant anything, but she didn't seem to believe me." He looked a little helpless.

Aspen couldn't help the giggle that escaped. He looked a little affronted. "Sorry, you're just so…"

"Clueless? Ignorant? Inexperienced? Yes, I am," he mumbled.

"I was going to say awkward. And I mean that in an affectionate way. If it's any consolation I'm all those things too. Just look who I picked to fall for," she said thinking of Loki.

"Why…" he broke off, looking unsure. "Never mind," he said hastily.

"Why did I fall for him?" she finished for him.

"It's none of my business."

"No, it's fine. Since we're on this subject, we might as well be honest with each other." She sighed. "I think there was something in him that I connected to. We'd both lost our families, though not through death. We both felt like we needed to prove ourselves somehow. He came across as irritable and haughty, but I kept seeing glimmers of who he really was underneath all that. There was something exciting and dangerous about him. Which really isn't a good thing to be attracted to. I like to think I learned from that mistake. Next time I'll pick someone more like you." She realized what she'd said a moment later and blushed. It didn't help that Steve was still close enough for her to feel his body heat. She refused to meet his eyes after that, and he was silent.

"I might not see the good in him, well, not much, but I trust your judgment," he told her finally.

"You saw some good in him?" she asked, surprised. "After all he did?"

"He spared your life," Steve said simply. "He could have killed you multiple times but he didn't.

"I'm not sure why he did."

"Because he fell for you too."

She rolled her eyes. "He's a demi-god. I doubt that. I'm just a human."

"Aspen, when will you see that you are anything but normal? You think yourself so plain, but you're extraordinary. One of the most extraordinary people I've ever met."

Aspen looked at him in surprise. She didn't know what to say. She opened her mouth to reply, but couldn't find the words. He was looking at her intently, his eyes so blue. "Steve, I-"

The ringing of her phone cut her off. She blinked, startled from her trance. She turned to her phone, looking at the screen to see who was calling. When she saw the words 'Blocked Number,' her heart leapt with a jolt. It had to be her mom again.

She answered it quickly. "Mom?" she asked.

"Not your mother. A friend," the voice responded. It was an older woman, not her mom. "Listen closely. You are being trailed by two men. They mean to kidnap you and take you in for questioning. They are going to be at your hotel tonight at midnight. There is an Amtrak station at 800 Northwest and 6th Avenue. Take it. Don't try to leave right now – they're watching your hotel. At 11:45 there will be a diversion, and you can make your escape."

"Wait, how do you know this? Who are you?"

"A friend," she repeated. "I've been keeping an eye on you."

"Your voice sounds familiar." Aspen couldn't place it. "Who do these men work for?"

"An organization called A.I.M. or Advanced Idea Mechanics. They're very interested in the research you're looking for."

"Do you know why they want it?"

"I don't have time to explain right now. Let's just say that such research would be dangerous in their hands."

"Who are you?" Aspen asked one more time. "Who do you work for?"

"We've met," the woman said after a pause. "I'm retired now, but do agents ever really retire?"

"You work for SHIELD?" But the line had gone dead.

"Who was that?" Steve asked.

"I'm not sure… Whoever it was warned me that the two men who were trailing us are coming back tonight to take us. There's going to be a diversion at 11:45, and we need to leave then."

"Take us where?"

Aspen shrugged. "I'm not sure. She mentioned A.I.M. They want my parents' formula just like everyone else. She told us to take the Amtrak out of Portland. There's a station at 800 Northwest and 6th Avenue."

"And you trust her? Does she work for SHIELD?"

"She said she was an agent…but I'm not sure if she works for SHIELD. She said she was retired. Her voice sounded so familiar, but I can't place it."

"What if it's a trap?"

Aspen had thought of that too. "She said we're being watched right now. They could track us wherever we go. I don't want to lead them to Washington. We can take the Amtrak away from Portland and then rent a car." Steve looked as if he wanted to ask something but was holding back. "What?"

"What's an Amtrak?" he asked.

"A train – electric. Usually the stations are open 24 hours."

Steve looked down at his watch. "1:30," he said. "We have a ways to go."

"I don't know about you but I'm famished. We should get something to eat and then get some rest. We're in for a long night." Steve nodded, and Aspen picked up the receiver on the phone next to the bed and ordered room service again. When she hung up, she turned to Steve. He was frowning, looking down at her phone.

"What's that?" He indicated a message that had popped up on her screen. Aspen grabbed her phone, reading the message.

_Your mother sends her love, Miss Tolvar. Looking forward to meeting you in person. Well, I suppose we _have_ already met, but you don't know it just yet. By the way, she's going to pay for that little phone call the other week. She'll still be alive when you get here though._

_P.S._

Aspen's heart was pounding in her head and the blood drained from her face. "Oh my god… My mom…"

"Who has her? Do you know who P.S. is?" Steve asked.

Aspen shook her head. "Steve, I can't lose her. Not again."

"We'll find her," he promised her.

"The men coming for us…they mean to take us to her."

"You can't be thinking about letting them take us."

"How else are we going to find her?" Aspen asked desperately.

"No, Aspen. I'm not letting you get kidnapped. She wouldn't want that. If she truly has been captured by A.I.M. or this P.S., we're not going to be any help to her if we get captured too."

Aspen fought with herself, but she knew Steve was right. She wilted against the pillows. "You're right."

"We don't even know that this person is telling the truth. It could just be a ruse to get you to let yourself be taken willingly."

"Well then he obviously doesn't know me well," Aspen said. "When have I ever been taken willingly?"

Steve smiled down at her. "We can take the fight to him, but on our own terms," he told her.


	7. On the Run

**6 – On the Run – May 12, 2012**

While Aspen dozed off, Steve was wide-awake, nervously twisting his bracelet around his wrist. His mind was on alert and every little creak of floorboards and strain of conversation made him want to grab Aspen and run. He didn't like waiting like this. He wasn't one to run, but Aspen was hurt and he didn't know how many men were after them. Two might have been trailing them, but it was entirely possible that there were more coming after them tonight. They had to know who he was and what he could do. He was suspicious of the phone call Aspen had received, but he knew that leaving Portland was probably their best option. She had her parents' research, but the trail hadn't ended just yet. As his gaze drifted to Aspen, it struck him how vulnerable she looked right now with her leg swollen and under a bag of ice. Her falling had been a stroke of bad luck. He swore to himself that he wouldn't let anything like that happen to her again.

Aspen stirred, and for a moment he thought she was having a nightmare, but then she relaxed. He looked at the clock on the bedside table. It was 11:00. He wasn't sure what to expect at 11:45, but they would be prepared. At 11:30, Steve woke Aspen, gently touching her shoulder. She opened her eyes to look at him.

"It's time," he said. Aspen gave him a small nod. He shouldered both of their bags and then helped Aspen sit up. "Do you want me to get more ice for your leg?" he asked.

She shook her head. "It'll only slow us down. I'll deal with it later." He frowned, worried about her putting weight on it, but her brow was set in determination, and he could see that she wasn't going to be coddled. At 11:44, they both tensed, waiting for whatever was going to happen. The minute ticked by slowly, and Steve found himself staring a hole in the door. Then Aspen's phone rang and they both jumped out of their skin.

"Hello?" Aspen did something to make the voice on the other end speak out clearly like she'd done before when her mom had called.

"You have fifteen minutes to get to the station. Take the back exit near the laundry rooms. Don't stop for anything. Don't talk to anyone."

"How do we know we can trust you?" Steve asked.

There was a pause and then, "Keep her safe, Captain Rogers." The phone clicked, and Aspen grabbed it, shoving it in her jacket pocket. She pulled her black cap lower over her eyes and stood, favoring her injured leg.

"Ready?" she asked. Steve nodded. "Let's go."

Aspen kept up a steady pace, walking as quickly as her injured leg allowed. Steve knew every step must be causing her great pain, but she didn't complain. They made it out of the hotel. He kept wondering what the distraction was but everything was silent. They walked out into the chilly night, and he saw Aspen huddle further into her jacket. She was limping badly now, and he slid an arm around her. He expected her to protest, but she leaned into him, allowing him to help her. The walk seemed to take forever, and he could tell how frustrated Aspen was with herself though she didn't speak. The city at night was something Steve hadn't prepared himself for. He'd never had reason to walk around at night in New York since waking up. As they passed a park, he saw homeless people sleeping in tattered sleeping bags. Their faces were like masks of hopelessness gazing at him and Aspen without traces of emotion. One man stood out to Steve. He was sitting in a very old wheelchair with a ratty blanket across his lap. What struck Steve was the uniform he wore. It was hard to tell at first with the stains and holes, but he realized it was a military uniform. A tarnished badge glistened under the streetlamp, and Steve realized with a jolt that this was a veteran.

"That man," he said to Aspen in a hoarse whisper, "he was in the army. He has a medal. Why is he living on the streets?"

Aspen gave him a sad look. "This country doesn't always look after those who served it. Some come back from war with injuries and can't afford the medical bills or health insurance. They wind up on the streets."

Steve found himself trying to grasp this concept. This man had gone to war for this country and it couldn't even give him a home or proper medical treatment? "I should give him something, anything." He dug for his wallet, but Aspen dragged him on.

"Steve, you can't help them all. He's not the only one. You could give every penny to your name to the homeless and there would still be some left without anything."

"Just let me talk to him."

"We don't have time, Steve. Focus." He realized she was right when he looked down at his watch. They only had three minutes to get to the station, and he'd already dawdled by the park. He cast a look back at the soldier and then nodded to Aspen. "I'm sorry," she told him. "The world can be a cruel place."

"I've seen cruelty before. It doesn't belong here. What about the people who drive past them everyday? Can't they help?"

"They do. A lot of people do help, but it's never enough."

A clock somewhere up ahead tolled out midnight. Steve peered ahead and saw that they were a block away from the station. "When does the train leave?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. We should hurry." They picked up the pace, Aspen limping along. He could see her wince now as she put weight on her injured leg. When they finally reached the station, they went up to the ticket window. Aspen quickly scanned the reader board that told them when the trains left and where they went. She quickly purchased them two tickets to Seattle, using an electronic screen that took her cash. Steve saw that the train left in fifteen minutes. They hurried over to where the train would meet them. Aspen kept looking around as if expecting someone to come for them. Steve kept his arm around her protectively.

There were a few people milling around. One girl who looked to be Aspen's age kept glancing at him. She had vivid purple hair that had to be dyed and a ring through her nose and several more up her ears. He self-consciously tugged at his hat. "Hey," the girl said. "Have you been to Brooklyn?"

Steve had forgotten that his hat said that and wondered wildly for a second how the girl knew he was from New York. "Oh, yeah, awhile back," he said. "My-er-girlfriend got it for me when we visited." He looked down at Aspen who threw him a surprised look. The girl looked between the two of them.

"I've always wanted to go, you know? I like it here, but New York is so much more exciting." She played with the ring in her nose, and Steve tried not to stare. He'd seen some odd fashions and jewelry since he'd woken up, but he still wasn't used to them.

"Yeah, great place," he said shakily. _Act normal_, he told himself. He was suddenly suspicious of everyone. Aspen stayed silent at his side.

"Are you visiting or do you live here?" she asked.

"Just visiting," Aspen said. "I used to live here, but went away for college."

"I'm going to Seattle to visit a friend. What's your excuse?"

"We're going to see the Space Needle," Aspen offered. Steve tried to hide his confusion. What was a 'Space Needle?' "I'm off for the semester, so we decided to take a trip."

"How long have you two been together?" the girl asked. Sheesh, how nosy could a person get? Steve shuffled his feet.

"About a month now," Aspen supplied. "We met at a hospital where I was volunteering."

"Oh, wow, so like one of those adorable black and white movie romances? Were you hurt?" she aimed that question at Steve.

"No," he said too quickly. "Well, just…"

"He just came back from the war," Aspen supplied. "Just a little head trauma, but he's a lot better now. He just doesn't like to talk about it."

"Oh, wow." The girl stared at him wide-eyed. He found he didn't like being under her scrutiny. "That's intense."

"Yeah." Aspen put an arm around him. "He's been through a lot." She smiled up at him and for a moment he forgot that the girl was still staring at them.

The arrival of the Amtrak train distracted them. Steve had to keep himself from gawking at it. It was like no train he had ever seen before. It was sleek and had no chimney on the top to let out smoke. They scanned their tickets and boarded the train. Steve and Aspen picked a seat at the very back. To Steve's discomfort, the talkative girl sat across from them. Aspen looked exhausted and her face was very pale. She leaned against him, and he wrapped his left arm around her.

The girl with the purple hair sighed. "Such a long ride," she said. "Nearly four hours." She pulled out her phone and plugged in headphones. A moment later her head was leaned back against the seat, the music blaring in her ears. Steve gave a small sigh of relief.

"A lot longer if you have to chat about a made up life," Aspen whispered. "Quick thinking on your part." Steve felt his face getting warm.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay," she said. "You were thinking on your feet. It's the most likely cover anyway."

"How's your leg?"

"I'll live." That wasn't much of an answer, but he let it rest. The train swooped into motion a moment later, so smooth that Steve hardly felt it move.

"Do you think anyone followed us?" he asked.

"I hope not," Aspen said sleepily. "I hate that everything is so cloak and dagger. I don't like running."

"Me neither."

"Should we have stayed? We could have taken them."

Steve tested his words carefully. "Maybe, but you could have injured your leg more."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right."

"You should get some rest. I'll stay awake," Steve told her.

"I shouldn't be so tired, but walking from the hotel to the station sucked all the energy out of me." She closed her eyes and fell silent. A moment later she seemed to be asleep.

The girl across from them threw him a grin and mouthed 'so cute.' He flushed, giving her a shy smile. He found, however, that despite his embarrassment at the story he'd concocted, he was perfectly content pretending it was true.

…

Aspen awoke just as the train halted in the Seattle station. She couldn't believe she'd slept that long especially with all the worrying she'd been doing the last few days. Maybe that was why she'd been so tired. She'd had a lot of sleepless nights since the battle of New York. The girl with purple hair was dozing off across from them, headphones still blaring in her ears. Aspen had no idea how she could sleep through that. Steve was still awake, and Aspen could only imagine how tired he was. Or maybe he didn't get tired like the average person did. She checked her phone to find that it was 4 am. Light had barely started to stain the sky, but the sun would be up shortly. She sat up, stretching. Her leg felt a little bit better after not having weight put on it for four hours. Steve looked down at her.

"Anything exciting happen while I was asleep?" Aspen asked.

"Just a crying baby and some dark scenery," he told her. "What are we going to do now?"

"Find somewhere to eat breakfast and hang out until a car rental place opens, then head to Everett. We might as well see a little of the city while we're here."

"Yeah, we're supposed to be seeing the Space Needle, whatever that is." He threw her a confused look. "Something the Chitauri sew with?"

Aspen laughed. "Hardly. It's a tower. An odd looking tower. You can get ice cream in a revolving restaurant at the top."

"That sounds dizzying. Have you been there?"

"When I was a kid. I have a picture, I don't really remember it that well. Let's stop at a 24-hour grocery store so I can get some aspirin."

They stood as the other passengers began to stir. The girl with the purple hair awoke, pulling the headphones from her ears and grabbing her bag. She tossed them a grin and said "Later!" before hopping off the train. Steve followed Aspen onto the platform. It was already busy as the early workers started their day. They headed into downtown, Aspen looking up a map on her phone.

"There's a grocery store four blocks west. Let's head that way." The pain was dull in her leg now, but it felt swollen, and she knew she couldn't keep walking for long. At the grocery store she purchased a cold compact wrap, some aspirin, and water bottle for each of them. "Looks like there's a diner a block over that serves 24-hours. Are you hungry?" Steve nodded. "I'm starving. They don't give you peanuts on the train."

The diner was quaint and looked like it had been modeled after the 1950s. She and Steve sat down in a booth by the window. A young waitress came over to deliver menus, and they scanned them for a few minutes before ordering. Aspen asked for a pot of coffee, feeling the need for a caffeine boost. They were the only ones in the diner at this hour save one man drinking coffee at the counter, so their meals came quickly. Aspen began to shove food into her mouth at a rate that probably wasn't polite, but she hadn't realized how starving she was. Steve ate slowly. He was quiet and Aspen wondered what was on his mind.

"What if we had met like normal people?" he asked suddenly.

"What?" She swallowed a mouthful of sausage.

He looked up at her, blue eyes keen. "What if we had met the way you described back at the train station?"

Aspen was surprised by his question. "I don't know. I think we would have been friends. I'd like to think we would have been friends under any circumstances." Was he asking if she thought they'd be more? Her heart fluttered a little. "If our lives weren't so hectic, maybe…" she paused not sure of what she was trying to say. "Maybe we'd be watching Indiana Jones and eating popcorn rather than on the run following clues left behind by my parents."

He chuckled. "I don't know. It's not so bad. It keeps life interesting at least."

"I can't ever say I lead a boring life," she agreed. "But maybe I could use a little boring. Once this is over. I just get the feeling we're hardly touching the tip of this though." She let out a long sigh. "Is it so wrong that I'm tired of this? My past has been chasing me ever since my parents faked the explosion and disappeared. They did it to protect me, I'm told, but I don't feel safe. I've had people shoot at me, steal my research, threaten me. That's not protected. That's not safe. I just wonder if this ever will be over. If I ever will be safe."

"You will. It may not seem like it now, but there's got to be an end somewhere. I know your parents wouldn't want you to be in danger."

"But _they're_ in danger. You saw the text. They have my mom – whoever 'they' is. And she said herself that she didn't know where my dad was."

"We'll find them. Maybe whatever we find in Everett will give us the information we need," Steve told her. Aspen appreciated his reassurance.

"Well, for the next few hours, we can pretend to be normal anyway," Aspen said. "See the city, try to forget the danger we just escaped before running straight into more danger."

"I'd like that," Steve said with a smile.


	8. A Glimpse of Happiness

**Author's Note: 6/15/14 **I started writing a one-shot. It takes place in the 1940s and is a what-if for Steve and Aspen if Aspen had lived back then. It's pretty dang cute if I do say so myself. I don't know how long one-shots typically run, but it's going to be long. Like 30 pages possibly. Because I'm the kid who wrote 20 page stories when I was supposed to write 2 pages in school. I'll keep working on it and post when I'm done.

* * *

**7 – A Glimpse at Happiness – May 13, 2012**

They didn't walk for long but rather found a place to sit across from the Space Needle, which was admittedly quite amazing, Steve thought. The air was warm with the first hints of summer, and they could smell the sea as the breeze carried it toward them. Instead of going into the Space Needle for ice cream, they walked to the pier and sat by the Sound, watching the seagulls coast overhead. Aspen explained what Pike Street Market was and managed to walk a ways with him, insisting that she wasn't in too much pain. After an hour of walking around, slowly so as not to hurt Aspen's leg further, he found himself forgetting that they were on the run, that they weren't normal like the people they passed. For that time he was just Steve and she was just Aspen. They stopped at the fish market section of Pike Street and watched as the workers threw fish back and forth much to the delight of the crowd. Aspen smiled at the absurdity of it, and Steve felt happier than he had the last few hours just to see her smile. On instinct he slipped his hand into hers. He saw her smile falter, but then grow a moment later. She didn't look at him, but held his hand tighter and did not let go as they moved on.

Finally eight o'clock came, and Aspen looked up a car rental agency on her phone with her right hand, keeping her left in his. Steve wasn't sure what this meant, wasn't sure what he wanted it to mean, but every time he was near Aspen anymore, his heart began to beat a little faster. He wanted to be near to her. It was slowly beginning to occur to him what was happening and the thought filled him with both happiness and nerves. He was falling for her.

This thought brought on a wave of different emotions: fear, happiness, nervousness, guilt, confusion. He was afraid to lose her, afraid she wouldn't feel the same way. Nervous about starting something. Now wasn't the time, he knew, to be starting a relationship with her. He felt guilty because a month ago he'd been falling for Peggy Carter. It didn't matter that sixty-seven years had passed. It was still a month ago in his head. Of course she had moved on, grown old. There was no chance for them now. Not in this lifetime. His confusion made him doubt himself. He didn't know what he was doing. It didn't matter that he was a superhero to a lot of people. He was still Steve Rogers, and he still had no experience with relationships. Bucky had always been the one to get the girl.

"…should be able to get us there in thirty minutes," Aspen was saying. She looked up at him. "Steve?"

He blinked, looking down at her in surprise. He'd been so caught up in his thoughts that he'd forgotten she was standing right there. He blushed as if she could see right into his thoughts and know that he was thinking about her. "Yeah, sounds great," he said quickly, trying to cover himself.

"You seem distracted," Aspen told him, and Steve's heart beat a little quicker. "Is something on your mind?"

Yes. A lot of things were on his mind right now. He swallowed. How could he tell her? Should he tell her? He froze, thoughts spinning in his mind. A crazy thought crossed his mind. He wanted to kiss her. That thought terrified him enough to release her hand and shove his own into his pockets. "I was just thinking about what we might find in Everett," he said hastily. Aspen looked disbelieving, but she nodded a moment later, accepting his answer.

"Well, let's go rent a car then. You don't mind driving?"

"No, not at all," he returned, not meeting her gaze. He felt embarrassed at his thoughts. He couldn't just kiss her in the middle of the street. Maybe people did that today, but he was not the type to rush into things. Instead he followed Aspen to the car rental agency, his thoughts more muddled than ever.

They rented a black sedan, and Aspen handed the keys over to Steve. He didn't get the car rental process, but Aspen explained it to him as they got into the car. Aspen directed him as he pulled away from the rental agency, weaving into the traffic that seemed heavy for a Sunday morning. As soon as they were out of the city, he relaxed. Aspen fiddled with some of the buttons and knobs below the dashboard and cool air streamed out of the vents. They'd bought fresh blackberries in the market, and Aspen pulled those out, setting them between the seats so they could share. Steve was reminded suddenly of Tony trying to push blueberries on him on the Helicarrier at the most inappropriate time. His thoughts turned to when he'd found that Aspen was stowed away on the Helicarrier despite direct orders to stay behind. He admired that about her, how she would do anything to follow what she thought was right.

As he drove, Aspen kept snatching glances at him. He tried to behave normally, but suddenly he didn't know what normal was anymore. He wanted to tell her everything, but he was too shy to tell her how he felt. He didn't want to keep ignoring his feelings though. He just wondered if she felt the same way. He stole a glance at her, but she was looking out the window, leaning her elbow on the doorframe. The scenery really was quite breathtaking though he was too distracted to enjoy it. They were driving along the water and everything was so green from the constant precipitation.

Ten minutes into the drive, Aspen broke the silence. "I was just thinking about what you said earlier in the diner." He thought back to what he had said and panicked for a second. "If you could choose to have been born in this era, say in 1986, and just been Steve Rogers and not Captain America, would you choose that?"

He thought for a moment. The idea of that was tempting, but then he wouldn't have met Bucky or Peggy or the men who had followed him into war against Hydra. He would still be the shrimpy kid from Brooklyn who got beat up and wasn't allowed to join the war and serve his country. He and Aspen could have lived out their entire lives without crossing paths. Even if she ended up in New York, there were a lot of people in the city. Would she have noticed him without the Super Soldier Serum? He knew that wasn't why she was friends with him, why she cared about him, but he hadn't stood out before, hadn't been able to make a difference in the way he wanted.

"I don't think I would," he said finally. "What I went through, the people I knew along the way, the people I've met since awakening, I wouldn't change that."

Aspen sighed. "I wish I had grow up with my parents, wish I'd never met Danners, but like you, I wouldn't give up the people I know now. Clint, you." She smiled at him. "I think sometimes normal is overrated."

"Have you made any decisions about SHIELD?" Steve asked. Aspen was constantly torn between a normal life and the life SHIELD would provide her with. He knew she wanted to be safe and to find her family, but he also knew she was used to this lifestyle. If he was honest with himself, he knew he could never find a normal job and have a normal life. Not since the serum or the war or New York.

"After New York I thought that I never wanted to be put into a situation like that again," Aspen told him. "I still don't, but I'm starting to realize that my parents' research has led to a lot of dangerous situations too. Joseph Danners hired me so that he could try to get his hands on the research. When he got his hands on the research, he tried to have me killed. And now A.I.M. or whatever is after the research. I used to think that my parents' work was something incredible, something good, but now… Now I just see a time bomb that's being juggled between multiple parties who want to use it for different levels of evil. My serum fell into the wrong hands. It was almost like someone knew I was developing it. I only told my chemistry professor and a couple of my classmates. Someone must have been spying on me. Who knows for how long?"

"Do you suppose it was the same people who want the rest of the research on the Superhero Serum?"

"Who knows? SHIELD has no shortage of enemies that would probably want to get their hands on that research. I just don't want to be a part of that anymore. I've seen firsthand the damage scientific research can do. The Tesseract for instance. SHIELD should have left it where it was but they needed to know more about it. And then that led to Phase 2. Nothing good can come from using Hydra weapons. Loki taught us that. Maybe New York needed to happen for SHIELD to see just how dangerous that cube was. I just used to think that I was studying science for good, following in my parents' footsteps, but their footsteps led us to where we are right now. It led me to grow up practically an orphan, led me to work for Danners, to nearly die. It led to every bad thing that has ever happened to me. I don't want to end up the same way they did. Maybe it's too late. I just want this to end."

"How do we end this?"

"I'm not sure we can. We don't know who knows what or how much of their research has leaked." She moaned, putting her face in her hands. "It's this huge mess, and my parents can't even clean it up themselves. Being dead was a good excuse, but now that I know they're alive…"

"I'm sure they didn't mean for you to deal with this," Steve told her.

"I don't know anymore. My mom's clearly alive, she knows I'm following their clues. What the hell kind of motherly concern is that? The clues led to research that could get us killed. We're on the run even now from who knows what organization. Maybe A.I.M."

Steve could tell that she was getting herself worked up. "Hey, we'll take care of this," he told her. "You're not alone."

"I shouldn't have dragged you into this. If you get hurt because of their stupid serum, I'll never forgive them or myself." She turned wide eyes on him, and he could see tears threatening to fall.

"Don't worry about me," he hastened to assure her.

"But I do. That's what friends do," Aspen said. "Did Bucky worry about you a lot?" she asked a moment later.

Steve started at the mention of Bucky. "He did. He was always getting me out of tight spaces," he recalled softly. "I think it came to him as a shock when I suddenly didn't need looking after." He thought back to their reunion when he'd saved Bucky from the Hydra facility.

"I bet."

"His first words when he saw the 'new' me were 'I thought you were smaller.'" He grinned at the memory. Aspen smiled.

"I think I would have liked him," she said. "He sounds like a great friend."

"He was." Steve fell silent wishing he could introduce Aspen to Bucky. He would have liked her too. He probably would have flirted up a storm with her, but somehow he knew Aspen could handle him. "I miss him," he said. "I had already lost him before I put down the Valkyrie, but it still hurts."

"I've never lost a close friend because I'd never had one before, but I couldn't even imagine."

"Yes, you could. You lost your parents."

"That's true, but I was three and they're not even dead. It doesn't mean it hurt less, but you had a lot more time with Bucky. It wasn't that long ago for you. I've had a long time to make my peace."

"Not something you should have had to do." He felt defensive whenever this came up. He wasn't seeing how leaving Aspen to fend for herself was a better option than staying a family.

"No, maybe not," she said quietly, "but I've learned to let it go."

They passed a mile marker that told them there were only 10 miles left until they reached Everett. "Do you know how to find the coordinates?" he asked her.

"I've put them into my phone. I'll let you know where to turn when we get into town."

They were silent for the remaining time. When a sign welcomed them into Everett, Aspen told him to take a right and keep driving for three miles. Steve signaled a turn, and they headed slowly through the city's downtown. It was a beautiful city near the water, and he wished they could stay longer to enjoy it. He half wanted to stop the car, but Aspen was staring grimly down at her phone, and he realized this wasn't the time. They left the downtown behind and then the city as they headed into the green land surrounding it. Aspen directed him to take left and they drove along the water for a time. The next turn Aspen pointed out to him was so choked with trees and foliage that he would have missed it if she hadn't said something. He turned down a winding dirt road that led into the trees. Aspen rolled down her window and rested her arm on the window frame. Steve pressed the little button on the door that rolled down his own window, letting the cool forest air waft into the car.

"We should be nearly there," Aspen told him, glancing down at her phone. "Another mile."

After a mile, he turned a corner in the bend and suddenly a building loomed up before them. "I can see how someone might have a hard time finding this place if they didn't know where they were going," he said.

"It's definitely been abandoned," Aspen said noting the tree that had smashed one of the glass windows and was growing partially up through a hole in the roof.

The building wasn't very big, more like a large barn made of grey stone. The glass windows were mostly shattered and pieces of glass lay strewn about the ground. A bit of graffiti mottled the front of the building. Clearly someone had found it at some point. He parked the car in the front, cutting the engine. "Seems quiet enough."

Aspen opened the door, pulling herself out. Steve hurried to help her, but she smiled and shook her head to let him know she was all right. They walked slowly to the front doors. The door had been chained shut at one point, but someone had cut the chain. It now hung loosely from the door handle, rusted and useless. Steve tried the door. It was weathered shut, but with an extra strain of his muscles, he pried it open. He allowed Aspen to enter first and followed. Leaves covered the cement floor and the building was open and airy – not what he had been expecting. It was more of a warehouse than a research facility. Outdated equipment lined the walls. There were still some beakers and test tubes filled with liquid though most had been broken and had stained the floors and worktables.

Aspen walked over to one of the walls, and Steve noticed shackles that had been bolted into the stone. Aspen fingered one of them, and the chain rattled. "What do you suppose these are for?" she asked.

"I'm not sure I want to know," Steve returned. "The subjects?"

"What went on here? My parents didn't shackle people like this. This can't be their work."

Steve hoped that was true, but he had a feeling there was a lot more to their research than either of them knew yet. She had told him, after all, that they had experimented on people in the 80s. Perhaps this was where their work started.

"Are these scorch marks?" Aspen ran her hand over the wall above the chains. Black stains ran upwards.

"They look like it."

Aspen shuddered and stepped away from the chains. "There are offices back there, let's see if there are any files leftover," she said, pointing toward a door at the back of the open area. A dusty plaque indicated that the Head of Research had once used the office. Sunlight slanted in through a dirty window, shedding light on a dust-covered desk. A filing cabinet sat behind the desk and Aspen rifled through that while Steve opened the desk drawers. He found a few papers indicating that half a dozen people of varying ages and genders had willfully signed up to be injected with an experimental serum. It didn't give any indication of what kind of serum it was. He shoved the papers away before Aspen could see them.

"I found something," Aspen said quietly. Steve hoped that it was nothing to indicate that her parents had had any hand in what had happened here. Somehow he didn't think it had been good. For the researchers to leave behind their files like this… Something had happened here to make them leave in a hurry and not come back. He looked over her shoulder at the age-stained paper she held.

"This is an account of the night of October 28th, 1995. 'We injected patients #1, #3, #5, and #6 with Serum #5.3 at 1600 hours. After the results of #2 and #4, we have decided to lower the dosage to .05ml. Restraints were used for caution. Let it be noted that patients agreed to this. 1700 hours. Patients seem to be showing some signs of discomfort. #1, #3, and #6 are moaning and seem to be in pain. #5 is silent but the veins on his arms are contorting in an unnatural way that can only indicate that his body is fighting the injection. 1900 hours. #1 and #6 have both begun having seizure and have been moved downstairs for medical attention. #3 seems to be stable. #5 is sweating profusely and shaking. Not clear yet if his body has accepted the serum. 2100 hours. Patients #1, #5, and #6 have been removed to separate cells after becoming hostile toward the doctors. #5 somehow managed to rip his chains from the walls and began to show aggressive behavior toward the research assistants. One injured. #3 is stable. 2300 hours. #1, #5, and #6 are screaming at the top of their lungs and appear to be in a great deal of pain. We tried to neutralize them, but they tried to attack anyone who came near. All we can do is wait and hope the reaction dies down. #3 is showing strange signs. One of our research assistants was speaking in German and #3 began to speak in German too. #3 has never learned German. Is the serum working?"

Aspen turned the page over. "0000 hours. We are under evacuation. Patients on the loose. They have broken out of their cells and have destroyed the lab. We must take extreme measures and neutralize them. These orders come from the highest authority. 0100 hours. Patients #1, #5, and #6 down. #3 has vanished. Five researchers down, four medics. This is a catastrophe. We don't know what #3 is capable of. I leave this file so that anyone who returns here may know what befell Research Facility 37. I thought we were doing this in the name of science, but people have died. This research needs to be destroyed. J.A. Adams – Head Research Assistant.'"

Aspen looked up, and Steve saw that she had tears in her eyes. "Did my parents do this?" she asked in a whisper. Steve had no answer, and she took his silence as a possible yes. "Oh, God… This isn't science, this is torture. This is Doctor Frankenstein, Jekyll and Hyde. This needs to end." She slammed the paper down.

"Do you want to go?" Steve asked.

"I want to see where they kept them," Aspen said. "The cells."

"Are you sure?"

"I just need to see."

They found the stairs leading downward and used their cell phones as flashlights. The steps were concrete, and they made it down without issue. In the dim light of their phones they could see the cells where the patients had been kept and the destruction they had caused in their escape. A medical room lay at the far end of the hall. Aspen walked past the cells slowly, running a hand over the broken and bent metal. She stopped before the door to the medical room. Steve feared what they would find behind the doors, but Aspen turned the knob, and they entered. Medical tools lay scattered on the ground and a vast stain on the floor looked unsettlingly like blood. It smelled musty, and Steve saw a couple of rats skittering around the corner of the room.

"I need air," Aspen said suddenly. She bolted for the door, flinging it open. Steve followed after her as she hobbled up the stairs and toward the main research room. She stopped abruptly, and he nearly ran straight into her.

"Well," said a voice that echoed in the dusty chamber. "I see you found our biggest mistake."


	9. Truth Will Out

**8 – Truth Will Out – May 13, 2012**

Aspen's eyes widened as two men stepped forward, both holding guns trained on her and Steve. She recognized them as the ones who had been trailing them. Clearly their trail hadn't gone as cold as she had hoped.

"Your biggest mistake?" she asked.

"Experiments gone wrong. Something your parents would understand."

"Were they behind these experiments?" Aspen asked both fearing and craving the answer.

The man just smirked. "Your parents were behind a lot of things," he said.

"How did you find us?" Steve asked.

"Anonymous tip," the man returned.

"Seem to be getting a lot of those lately," Steve returned. He placed a hand protectively on Aspen's back.

"Where's your shield?" the second man asked. "Not much of a hero without that now are you?"

Steve clenched his jaw. "Put the guns down and let's see," he said.

The man laughed. "No thanks. We've got orders to bring her in unharmed. You, on the other hand, we can bring in in any condition we see fit."

"You're going on the assumption that I'm going to be easy to bring in?" Aspen asked with a laugh. "Not too smart."

"How's your leg?" Aspen started. "Yeah, we know about that," he said at the look on her face. "You won't last two seconds."

"You're not getting anywhere near her," Steve growled, pushing Aspen behind him Aspen had never seen his eyes so dangerous, cold as steel. "Stay behind me," he told Aspen in a low tone.

"I'm not just gong to stand back and do nothing!" she said.

Steve turned slightly so that he could look down at her. In the narrow doorway, she could see every bit of the grey and blue that made up the spectrum of his eyes. He leaned close, brows furrowed. "I can handle this. You use the window in the office. Get to the car and get somewhere safe. Anywhere. I'll catch up."

"I am not leaving you, and that's final!" Aspen said, glowering up at him. He seemed surprised by her reaction, frowning down at her in consternation.

"Not to interrupt this endearing argument, but neither of you is leaving. Do you really think we didn't bring back up?" The first man touched something in his ear and said, "We're ready." Steve tensed, a hand going to Aspen's arm. A second later, a dozen men burst into the front doors of the building. Five more burst in through the window behind them, spraying glass everywhere. Steve shielded Aspen, pressing her close to his chest.

"Now I wish I'd listened to Fury and taken the damn quinjet," Aspen muttered before Steve pulled her into the main room, away from the men closing in behind them.

"Stay behind that desk," Steve told her. Aspen started to protest, but suddenly the men converged on Steve, and she had no choice but to crouch down behind the overturned desk. Her leg was throbbing again, and she had no weapon. Her fingers touched something cold and metal and wrapped around a scalpel.

Steve had thrown two men aside and was wrestling out of the grip of a third. He kicked out, sending another man down and then threw his weight backwards, slamming the man holding him to the ground and getting nimbly to his feet. His hand-to-and combat skills were so intricate that it was like following a dance where each movement was perfectly choreographed. He threw punches quicker than her eyes could follow and his blocks brought the image of hitting a rock to mind. Soon eight men lay unconscious at his feet. The attacks kept coming, but he didn't seem to be tiring in the least. Then five men ganged up on him. Silver glinted as one of the men brought a knife toward his side.

"Steve!" Aspen screamed.

He managed to dislodge two of his attackers but the man holding the knife sunk it into his side before he could deflect it. He winced in pain, managing to kick aside the man who had stabbed him. Another man had grabbed him around the neck. Aspen flung herself at the man. She slashed at his arm with the scalpel, and he cried out in pain, flinging her off of him. She landed hard and bits of broken plaster and stone dug into her skin.

"Don't harm her!" the man who had first spoken to them shouted. "She's valuable!"

Aspen bristled at his comment and got to her feet. Seven men remained besides the two men with the guns and the man nursing his bleeding arm. Aspen saw Steve pull the knife out of his side, slick with blood and wield it before him. The seven remaining men eyed him cautiously, realizing that he could fight perfectly well without his shield. Aspen joined him, and they stood back to back.

"You okay?" She threw at him.

"Fine. You?"

"Same."

"I guess it's not going to do any good telling you to sit this one out."

"Nope."

"Then we do this together. Can you cover my back?" he asked.

"Got it."

The seven men moved in on them. Aspen's back brushed Steve's as they both readied themselves. One of the men made to grab Aspen, but she dodged, bringing the scalpel down across his back and shoving him into the wall. Steve executed some complicated footwork ending in a flip. Suddenly gunfire echoed loudly in the room. One of the men holding a gun slumped to the ground. The other raised his gun, looking around for the sniper. Aspen saw movement on the roof. Two men around them fell.

"Get her in the van!" the remaining gunman shouted. A man grabbed Aspen around the waist. She kicked out. He grunted but did not release his grip on her. He grabbed her wrist and bent it, forcing her to drop the scalpel. Aspen stomped hard on his foot. He cried out, but grabbed her around the neck, shoving a sickly sweet smelling cloth over her mouth and nose. She struggled, but the drug overwhelmed her. The room went hazy, and the last thing she saw were Steve's blue eyes widened in fear.

…

Steve ducked as a bullet ricocheted off the wall, narrowly missing his head. Aspen was in the grip of one of the thugs. He watched in horror as the man held a cloth over her nose. Aspen's green eyes went hazy, and she slumped into the man's arms.

"Aspen!" He charged the man, but someone collided with him, and they went sprawling. The man punched him hard in the side where the knife had wounded him. Pain shot through Steve's side and lights danced before his eyes. A fist pummeled his jaw before he could fully recover. His vision swam. He was still holding the knife, and he jabbed up at the man and threw him off. He rolled to his feet as a volley of bullets broke any remaining test tubes and beakers. Steve ducked behind a desk to access the situation. There were only three men left including one of the original gunmen and the one Aspen had slashed with a knife. A few of the men he'd knocked unconscious were coming too as well. He tried to see who was firing, but it was hard to tell with plaster and dust falling down on them. He looked around for Aspen, but the man holding her had disappeared. He wanted to bolt after her, but he didn't dare leave his cover as another round of gunfire rang out. He needed to get outside. He wished he had his shield and looked around for something he could substitute. His eyes alighted on a metal locker that had fallen on its side. One of the long doors hung loose. He ripped it from its hinges and held it along the edge. He looked over at the doorway and then took a deep breath.

As soon as he started running, gunshots rang out again, bouncing off the metal of the locker door. He dodged a pile of collapsed roof and flung himself outside. He could see the van parked past where he had left the rental car. The man who had taken Aspen was pacing outside of it, gun in hand. When he saw Steve coming, his eyes widened. He raised the gun and shot. Steve blocked the bullet, slamming the metal door into the gun as he reached the man. The gun fell to the ground, and he brought the locker door down hard on the man's head, knocking him unconscious. Steve picked up the gun.

He assumed Aspen was in the back of the van and fumbled with the latch. "Drop the gun and step aside, Captain," came a female voice. A spark of recognition alerted him to who it was before he even turned around. She'd pulled her hair up in a ponytail and was now holding a gun, but there was no mistaking the purple hair and piercings. It was the girl from the Amtrak, the one who had been so interested in him and Aspen. He thought he knew why now. He dropped the gun and raised his hands slightly.

"So you're working for them. Are you the one who gave them the anonymous tip?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

She surveyed him for a moment. "I don't work for them. But yes, I did give them the tip."

"Why?" he asked.

She cocked her head to the side as if this was a silly question. "To get them altogether so we could shoot them," she said simply with no signs of remorse. "They've been a real thorn in our sides."

"Who's 'we'?" Steve asked.

"My organization likes to stay under the radar, so you'll forgive me if I don't tell SHIELD who we are."

"I'm not SHIELD."

"No? We'll you're snuggling up to one of them. Too close for me."

"What do you want with us?"

"Same thing as they do."

"We don't have the formula."

"She does." The girl nodded at the van.

"I'm not letting anyone take her," Steve said, putting himself squarely between the girl and the van.

"The one difference between them and us is that we don't need you alive," she told him. "I will shoot you if I have to."

"All this for one serum."

"With the potential to change the world. With this serum, we could change the very fabric of our society. Our military would be far superior. No one would question the might of our country again. Is that not a better future?"

"I hear an awful lot about what a better future would be like, but none of it actually sounds good," Steve told her.

"Well you'll change your tune soon enough," she said with a smile. "Now step aside."

"No."

"As I said, I _will_ shoot you."

Steve placed one foot a step forward, his shoe coming down on the edge of the locker door. "You're not taking Aspen anywhere," he said firmly.

"Alright." The girl shot a second after Steve pressed his foot down on the locker door. It came up and took the bullet just in time. Steve knocked into the girl, disarming her and sending her to the ground. She kicked out, catching him off balance and sending him to his knees. She grabbed the gun as Steve tackled her arm. She screamed in frustration, trying to aim it at his heart, but he was too strong for her. She dropped the gun, and he snatched it, getting to his feet and aiming it at her. She started to get up slowly, but the next second an explosion that rocked the building sent them both to the ground again. The gun flew out of Steve's hand and landed out of reach. Steam was issuing from the research facility and rubble showered down on them.

"Shit!" the girl cursed.

A man came hobbling out of the building, limping heavily. The girl scrabbled for the gun, but the man raised his own gun and shot her. She fell back down, and Steve saw that she was still alive. The bullet was imbedded in her shoulder. Another man limped out of the building, and Steve recognized him as one of the men he had fought, more specifically, the one Aspen had slashed in the arm with the scalpel. Steve looked around for the gun, but the first man aimed his own gun straight at his head.

"One move and I put this bullet in your brain," he said. "You're going to get in the back of that van when he opens it and not make a fuss. You won't try to escape with the girl. Do you know why? My friend there," he indicated the unconscious man by the van, "he injected her with a slow acting poison that will kill her if she doesn't receive the antidote within 24 hours. The antidote is where we're going so if you try to escape, she will die. Do I make myself clear?"

Steve gave him a stiff nod. His vision was nearly blurring he was so angry. He didn't know if the man was lying, but he knew he wasn't going to take that chance. So did they. The second man, still nursing his cut arm, unlocked the back of the van and gave Steve an unnecessary push. Steve saw Aspen lying on the floor, her red curls splayed out around her. "Aspen!" He rushed to her side just as the man slapped the door shut. It was pitch dark suddenly. Steve felt his way to Aspen and pulled her into his arms, sitting down on the hard floor of the van. Her skin felt hot to the touch, and her forehead was dotted in sweat.

"What did he do to you?" Steve asked. He smoothed back her hair and pulled her closer to him, cradling her next to his heart. The van jolted into motion, and he braced himself. He lost track of how long they traveled, but he was aware that they had come to an airport. He heard a plane taking off low overhead. He tightened his grip on Aspen when the van stopped and the two men opened the back doors. Sunlight temporarily blinded him. The gunman motioned for Steve to get out of the van with a flick of his gun. Steve lifted Aspen and dropped to the ground. He glared at the men as they motioned him toward a waiting plane.

"Get on," the gunman told him. Steve had no choice but to obey. In the light, he could see how pale Aspen had grown.

"What did you give her?" he asked.

"Not your concern," he told Steve. "Get on the plane."

It was a small plane, but Steve was able to lay Aspen down on a row of seats, sitting across from her. The two men took places at the front of the plane. "Where are we going?" Steve asked.

The men ignored him. The plane started up, picking up speed until it left the ground. Steve ground his teeth, trying to fight off the nerves he was feeling. This time he didn't have Aspen to keep him distracted. He took her hand and held it tightly, taking some relief in the beat of her pulse in her wrist.

He managed to doze off once though he didn't mean to. He hadn't slept since the night before last, and as the hours went on, he found himself unable to keep his eyes opened. When he woke up again it was dark outside. Aspen was stirring, and he leaned closer to hear what she said.

"Where are we?" she asked weakly, her voice rough. She coughed. "Why do I feel so miserable?"

"You'll be alright," Steve told her. "We've been captured. I'm not sure by who. A.I.M. possibly… There were two different organizations there. It turned into a bloodbath and then someone blew up the facility." Aspen's eyes widened. "The girl from the Amtrak was there. She worked for another organization. She got shot, but she was alive when I last saw her."

"Oh god, what have I dragged you into?" Aspen whispered, her eyes reflecting her horror.

"Don't worry about me," he said.

"Why is my throat so dry?" Aspen asked.

"Can we get some water?" Steve asked the men, turning around. "Please, she needs water. You said you wanted her unharmed."

One of the men finally got up and went to the very back of the plane. He returned with a bottle of water. Steve unscrewed the top and helped Aspen sit up a little so she could drink.

"I'm burning up," she said. "What's wrong with me?"

Steve didn't know how to answer.

"They did something to me, didn't they? To ensure that you came without a fight. That's the only way you would be here, the only way you would have gotten captured."

"They injected you with something," Steve told her. "The antidote is wherever we're going."

Aspen nodded. "Poison. I can tell. How long do I have?"

"Twenty four hours."

"Then let's hope our flight is on time. How's your side?" she asked, eyeing his blood-soaked T-shirt. Steve lifted the shirt a little to look at the wound. It was already starting to heal.

"It's mostly dried blood. I heal quickly," he told her at the horrified look on her face. "I'm more worried about you."

"You heard them. They want me unharmed. Or at least alive. I'm safe. I'm worried about you." She furrowed her brow.

"Don't worry about me," he told her.

"Where are they taking us?" she asked, looking out the dark window.

"I'm not sure. We've been in the air a long time."

"Where's my phone?" Aspen whispered. She dug around in her pockets and sighed when she found it. "Do you still have your bracelet?" she asked.

Steve nodded, pulling back the cuff of his jacket. Aspen nodded, shutting her eyes. "I'm so tired," she said. "But I don't want to fall sleep. I keep seeing horrible things. I keep seeing the patients and hearing their screams. In one of the dreams I was one of them. I was patient #53."

"It was just a dream. No one's going to experiment on you," Steve told her. He hated how frightened she was. It wasn't supposed to end up like this. It was like playing with fire, he realized, and they had both been burned. And this was only the beginning.

Aspen dropped off a few minutes later. Her breathing began to labor a little as dawn touched the sky. Steve peered out the window and saw and endless expanse of blue. They were over the ocean. A mass of land was slowly growing bigger on the horizon, and the plane began to lose altitude as they prepared for landing. As the plane flew lower, he saw what looked to be a small coastal village. An airfield lay just beyond, and the plane touched down. The two men got out of their seats once the plane stopped and motioned for Steve to do the same. He picked up Aspen and walked toward the exit. Aspen woke up and looked around with blurred eyes.

"What's happening?" she asked in a whisper.

"We're here wherever here is," Steve told her.

"Stay with me," she pleaded.

"I'm not going anywhere," Steve swore to her, tightening his grip on her.

He stepped down onto solid ground. There was another van parked a few yards away with six armed guards and a man dressed in a tailored suit. When he saw them, he held his arms out wide in greeting.

"Finally!" he said in a friendly voice. He was clearly American though Steve was sure they had left the country. "I was wondering if you were ever going to get here. I've been waiting so long. Did he give you any trouble?" he asked his men.

"Came quiet as a mouse," one of the men responded with a smirk.

"I always admire a fighter," the suited man said. "That's why I like Aspen so much. Despite everything she's been through and she still keeps fighting. Just like her mother."

"You know her mother?" Steve asked sharply.

"I'd like to think we're friends," the man told him. "We went to university together after all."

Aspen weakly tried to lift her head, but she was fading fast. "She needs the antidote," Steve said. "She's dying."

"Of course, how uncivil of me!" the man motioned to one of the guards who came forward with a small black case. He pulled out a syringe and stuck Aspen's arm. She moaned, and Steve tensed. After a moment though color began to work its way back into her face, and she opened her eyes fully. She met Steve's gaze and then turned to look at the man in the suit.

Steve watched her eyes widen. "You know him?" he asked.

"Oh my god," she whispered. "You."

"Me," the man said with a shrug.

"Who is he?" Steve asked.

"He teaches at Columbia University," Aspen told him. "He goes by Professor Stewart."


	10. Part Two: Into the Fire

**Part Two: Into the Fire**

**Prologue – October 28, 1995**

Doctor John Anthony Adams hadn't understood why the last serum hadn't worked. They had perfected the algorithms and had only taken subjects they thought could withstand the process. Patients #2 and #4 had reacted very poorly to the last serum. They were still in the medical bay. They had been trying to create a counter serum to waylay any negative effects, but the whole process was a disaster waiting to happen. Some of the experiments he had headed over the years had been questionable, but when his boss had discovered the basic formula for the Neurological Potential Stimulus, he had insisted they drop everything else and pursue the possibilities. There was clearly an element missing though and every attempt so far had been a failure. He wasn't sure where his boss had acquired the research, but it wasn't his job to question him.

He had a fresh batch of serum and patients that were still willing to go through with the process. Patient #3 had been particularly eager to continue on. The patients' names were kept completely confidential. Not even he knew their real names. The next round of injections was scheduled for 5 pm that night. Adams prepared himself, double-checking that everything was in place. They had decided to chain the patients tonight – with their permission – just in case they had a repeat of #2 and #4. In a business like this, risk was necessary for return, but sometimes the risks could lead to catastrophe. Safety was a must.

His watch beeped as five o'clock arrived, and he pulled on his lab coat. His employees were already on the floor, chaining #1, #3, #5, and #6 to the walls. He nodded to his research assistants and four injections were brought forward. Each patient winced as the serum was injected into their bloodstream. The doctor looked down at his log and began to record.

…

Fire burned through his veins like the hottest pits of hell. He writhed in agony but the chains restricted his movement. The #3 stamp on his arm blurred as his skin broke out in a feverish sweat. He moaned as pain wracked his body. It felt like something large was trying to fit through his veins but couldn't quite squeeze through. #1 and #6 were moaning too. He didn't know their names, but he felt as if their shared pain brought them together in a sort of sick brotherhood. They had all signed up for this after all. The head of research was observing them with a passive expression on his face, scribbling notes on his notepad every few minutes. It felt like an intrusion, but he knew that it was all part of the process. He looked over at the man to his left. He was shaking almost uncontrollably and seemed to be having some sort of seizure. Try as he may, he couldn't keep the fear from entering his mind as he watched his fellow patient suffer.

Time was endless in this godforsaken research facility. His own shakes were beginning to slowly subside and he was feeling much better than he had with the last serum injection. Before he had lost consciousness after the first few minutes and had nearly gone into shock as his body tried to fight off the unsuccessful serum. His vision began to clear, and he became more aware of his surroundings. #5 was straining at his chains, growling with an inhuman noise that seemed to be unsettling the research assistants. He began to strain against his restraints, and they groaned under the pressure. The assistants began to shout and two came forward to try to keep him under control. With a sudden lurch, he pulled the chains straight out of the walls. He swung at one of the assistants, sending the young man flying across the room where he hit a locker. Both the locker and the man fell to the ground. Three more assistants swarmed around #5 and somehow managed to restrain him. A tranquilizer subdued him, and he was removed from the room.

#2 and #6 were removed a few moments later as they began to show the same signs. He watched as they too were subdued and dragged from the room down to the basement. Was his body accepting the serum? Why was he reacting so differently? The researchers watched him cautiously, but he felt fine. Only a dull pain was left. He stood calmly as the night wore on. Some time later, he heard screaming from the basement. It was the same inhuman sound that sent chills through his body. He wanted to ask what was happening. One of the research assistants was speaking in quick German into a tape recorder. He asked what was happening in the basement and the man gave him a surprised look. It was only after the researcher started speaking in excited German that he realized what he had done – he too had spoken in German. He hadn't meant to, hadn't even known how, but he just had. He gulped. Was the serum working? It was supposed to help his brain reach its full potential. Understanding new languages could easily be one of the results of the serum. He felt a surge of excitement. His shivers had all but faded and the pain had turned into a sharp awareness. Everything was brighter and sharper. He felt as if he was absorbing his surroundings, taking in every little detail and micro-analyzing it with quick precision.

"How are you feeling?" the head research assistant asked, coming up to him with his clipboard. Every line on his face was in sharp contrast and the smell of blood and chemicals was pungent though his white uniform was clean.

"I feel…aware."

"Can you elaborate?"

"I can sense everything, learn everything. It's incredible. What's happening with the other patients?" he asked.

The doctor's brow knit together. "They're…struggling. Their bodies are rejecting the serum."

"Why is mine not?"

"Clearly you're stronger. Your body has accepted it and is starting to utilize its new found powers."

A particularly loud cry of agony went up from downstairs. He winced. "Can't you do anything for them?"

"We're trying to give them a sedative, but they won't calm down. I don't want anyone getting hurt in the process." As he spoke an alarm started to blare. The man looked up, and fear glinted in his eyes.

"We need to evacuate!" one of the research assistants yelled, running into the room. "The patients have escaped! They're showing signs of superhuman strength, but their minds seem to have gone."

The researcher looked panicked. "This wasn't supposed to happen," he said. "Gather what you can. Save the research." There was a tremendous roar and the building shook. "Do what you have to," he said with a sharp nod.

He meant to kill them. What had the serum done to them? Would the same thing happen to him? He tested his chains. He strained his muscles, but his physical strength had not changed. He didn't understand why it was affecting his fellow patients differently. The researchers were in chaos, gathering what they could. He could hear shouts and cries of pain below his feet. Suddenly three gunshots rang out and everything else fell silent. He felt sickened. This wasn't what he had signed up for. No one was supposed to die. Not like that. Was he next? The researchers seemed to have forgotten his presence though. Finally the head researcher paused, his briefcase tucked under his arm. He looked at his patient for a long while before taking a set of keys and unlocking the chained cuffs.

"Come with me," he said.

At first his patient followed but it occurred to him that he didn't need to be tested anymore. He had his ability; he had what he came for. The possibilities were infinite. He looked down at his arm where the #3 was still inked into his skin. As they breached the night, he slipped away while the doctor was shouting orders to his men. He faded into the forest, new abilities leading him onward. He had work to do. The research notes he had seen in the lab were now etched on the insides of his eyes like an instant textbook. He would recreate the serum and become the most powerful man alive.


	11. AIM

**9 – A.I.M. – May 14, 2012**

Aspen's brain was still trying to process the fact that her astrophysics and chemistry professor was working for A.I.M. "Are you the one who sent the message about my mom?" she asked. "P.S. – Professor Stew."

"I wondered if you'd figure it out. Then again, I was pretty convincing as a bumbling college professor. You didn't suspect a thing."

"Where is she?"

"Somewhere working on the serum. I told her you'd be coming. You'll see her soon enough. Nothing like a little extra incentive to get her working."

"All along you've been watching me. Did you steal my Immunity Serum?" she asked.

"Oh, yep, that was me. I have to say, you and your Captain gave me a run for my money. I was afraid you'd actually catch my men."

"Was it your man who shot at us?" she asked.

Professor Stew frowned at this. "No, that was a pesky organization that has been a tick in my side since the moment it came into existence. I dare say we took care of that little snag. I think he was aiming for the Captain, but I see you two can't be parted from each other, isn't that right? My man you did catch up with took the whole 'don't let them catch you and interrogate you' thing a little too far, but he used to work for Hydra. I understand cyanide capsules are a thing there."

Aspen glowered at him. "What do you want with us?"

"I thought that would be obvious, my dear."

"You want the formula."

"I have the formula. I have everything. At least your mother does. I have some of the papers on the serum – what Joseph Danners sent me before SHIELD caught up to him – but my scientists can't seem to get it quite right. We've had quite a few failed experiments. Your mother has been dragging her feet for a long while. I've tried incentives, I've tried threats, quite frankly, I'm out of ideas. Or I was until I realized you are her biggest incentive. And if that doesn't work, we have the Captain to give _you_ incentive to finish it."

"I don't know how."

He gave her an ingratiating smile. "You're smarter than that, Miss Tolvar. I would know."

"How did you find my mom?" Aspen asked.

"All in good time. Let's get you to my research lab first. You must both be tired and hungry. It's been at least 24 hours since you ate. Please, come with me, and we'll get you settled for your stay."

Aspen wanted to refuse, but she was famished and exhausted as well as weak from the lingering effects of the poison.

"What do you want me to do?" Steve asked in a low voice.

"I don't see another option. I want to see my mom," she told him. "I'm not running anywhere anytime soon, and you can't fight and carry me at the same time."

"I don't like this."

"Me neither."

Steve tightened his grip around her and walked toward the black van. Professor Stew opened the back door for them. The guards stood at attention, eyes set on Steve's every movement. The super soldier helped Aspen into the van and got in beside her. She could tell he was fighting off his instincts to take down the guards and grab Professor Stew by the throat until he released her mom. Instead he sat silently. Aspen sat close, wrapping her arm around his. She was nervous, more afraid that she wanted to show. Steve seemed to sense this because he grasped her hand and held it tightly as the van started up.

"I think we're in Iceland," Aspen whispered to him as they drove through the small town and into the rolling green lands beyond. "It's where my mom called from. It makes sense." This didn't do much to comfort either of them. Aspen fingered her tracking necklace and hoped that someone was looking out for them.

Finally a dip in the land brought a large expanse of concrete building into view. "My research facilities," Professor Stew said.

Aspen couldn't deny how incredible it was. He probably had unlimited resources here. If her mother hadn't been forced to come here, she would probably be very happy working in the lab. An unsettling thought entered Aspen's mind. What if her mother _hadn't_ been forced to work here? What if she worked for A.I.M. now? She pushed the thought from her head. She would never work for an organization like A.I.M. Then again she had created the serum that everyone was after. People had died because of it.

The van pulled into a parking lot to the back of the building and the guards got out, pointing their guns at Steve and Aspen. "That's not necessary," Professor Stew said. "Really. Captain Rogers and Miss Tolvar are going to be cooperative."

Aspen wanted to spit in his face rather than follow his lead, but she was still feeling weak and didn't really see another option. She and Steve got out of the van and followed Professor Stew into the side entrance to the research facility. It was just as impressive on the inside as the outside. Aspen nearly forgot to breathe as they entered an open room that seemed to be more of a lounge than a research facility. "This is the living annex for my workers," the professor explained. "This is where you'll be staying. I'm going to show you to your room now and have breakfast sent up. How does that sound?"

"I want to see my mom," Aspen told him.

"In due time. I'm going to feed you first. I'd hate her to think we haven't treated you well."

"Considering you poisoned me to get us here, I think that's already a few points _not_ in your favor," she told him.

"Spirited. I like that. This way." He led them up a set of stairs and onto a sort of balcony that ran along the lounge below. He used a scan card to unlock a door and ushered them in. Steve and Aspen entered an expansive room with a bed, couch, and table. "You'll forgive me if I take the precaution of locking you in," he said. "I can't have my most esteemed guests leaving too early. Food will be up soon." He shut the door. Aspen didn't bother to check it. She nearly stumbled to the couch where she curled up in a ball on one end. Steve looked around the room like a caged animal for a long moment and then sighed, sitting next to her. She decided she didn't care about boundaries anymore and curled up next to him. His arm went around her automatically, and he held her close to him.

"What's going to happen to us?" she asked.

"I don't know," he answered truthfully, "but I swear I won't let any harm come to you."

"You might not be able to stop him," Aspen told him.

"He needs us. He isn't going to kill us."

"Not yet. What do I do, Steve? He's going to ask me to finish the formula."

"Can you?" He looked down at her, blue eyes thoughtful.

"With all the information and procedural notes, I think so, yes. If they have a bit of power from the Tesseract and a way of extracting it then I don't see why I couldn't. But something like that falling into his hands… It could be really bad. It's just like the Tesseract falling into Loki's hands."

"Why do you think he wants it?"

"The serum? I suppose he wants that kind of control, that kind of power. Who knows why anyone craves that? Sometimes once you get a taste for power, you just keep wanting more." Her head was pounding and her vision blurring. She closed her eyes feeling suddenly nauseous. "I can't think right now. I feel horrible."

She felt Steve brush her hair from her face, resting his hand on her forehead. "You're still feeling warm," he said. She could her the worry in his voice. "Are you sure you're cured?"

"He needs me alive. It's just the aftereffects," she assured him.

"Did you know that he'd gone to university with your parents?" Steve asked.

"I knew. I trusted him." She was disgusted with herself. She was a SHIELD agent and yet she couldn't even see the enemy right under her nose. How happy he must have been when she had walked right into his classroom with no idea that he headed a research facility for A.I.M.

"You had no reason to distrust him," Steve told her.

"You think by now I might have learned not to trust anyone," she said softly.

"You shouldn't have to live that way," Steve said, and she could hear the sadness in his voice.

"I know."

The door opened just then and a man brought in a tray of food. Aspen caught sight of a guard lingering just outside. The door was locked again, and they were left alone. "Well at least he's feeding us," she said, getting slowly to her feet and sitting at the table. Steve joined her, and they picked uninterestedly at the food despite the fact that it had been over a day since they'd last eaten. Aspen didn't feel hungry. Her mind was on her mother and the mess they'd found themselves in. There was no clock in the room, but oddly enough, they hadn't been searched. Aspen pulled out her phone. It was only 9 am. She had no signal, so calling someone wasn't an option.

"I shouldn't have this here," Aspen said. Steve gave her a questioning look. It occurred to Aspen that the room might be bugged. She indicated her phone then tapped her ear to indicate that someone might be listening. Steve nodded to show he understood. Her eyes darted around the room before alighting on the elaborate bedposts. She didn't see any cameras in the room, but she knew there was always a chance that they were being watched. Voices outside their room caused her to act in desperation. She snatched a fork from the table and pried the top of the post off. It was hollow inside and she shoved her phone in, capping off the post before returning to her seat. A second later Professor Stew opened the door. He looked back and forth between the two of them.

"You're looking rather downcast. Was the food not to your liking?" He frowned as if this thought upset him.

"Where's my mom?" Aspen asked, glaring at him.

"I was just coming to get you. I'll take you to her now."

"Really?" Aspen was taken aback. Surely he wanted something from her. Why was he being so accommodating?

"Heavens, you don't think I'd miss the reunion of the century?" he asked. "If you'd follow me." He motioned them out the door. Aspen stood, waiting for Steve before leading them cautiously out of the room. She was afraid the professor was going to insist Steve stay in the room, but he seemed unconcerned by having Captain America loose in his facility. He led them down a set of stairs into the lounge area and then down a corridor that was completely made of glass. He led them into what was notably the research part of the facility. Here Aspen noticed guards stationed around the outside doors.

"This is where all the top secret research goes on, so you'll understand why I post guards. Can't have just anyone coming in to look at my work."

"You mean my parents' work?" Aspen snapped.

Professor Stew just gave her a sympathetic look. "My dear, I helped your parents a great deal with their research. More than they know." He scratched at his right wrist, and Aspen caught sight of something that looked like ink before he pulled the cuff down again. "Shall we?" He slid his card across a scanner and pushed open a double set of doors. He led them into a large lab that appeared to be very well equipped.

"I'm going to need those results back before I can cross-examine the effects," a familiar female voice came from the opposite side of the lab. Aspen gasped as the redheaded woman turned around. Green eyes matched hers. Aspen watched the emotions play out within her mother's eyes. Alarm, happiness, sorrow, regret. "Aspen?" she finally said, her voice breaking.

"I'll give you a minute. I'm sure you have a lot to catch up on," the professor said. He backed out of the room.

Aspen's mom crossed the room in five strides and pulled Aspen into a tight embrace. Aspen stiffened, but then she wrapped her arms around the woman she hadn't seen since she was four years old. Familiarity worked its way back into the gesture, and Aspen said, "Mom" before breaking into tears.

…

Steve watched as Aspen's mom threw her arms around her daughter. He saw Aspen stiffen at the unfamiliar gesture from the mom she hadn't seen for eighteen years. Aspen's mom was facing him, and he could see the hurt in her eyes when Aspen didn't immediately return the gesture. Then Aspen put her arms around her mom. "Mom," she said, her voice breaking. She began to cry. It was like everything she had kept pent up the last eighteen years of her life was coming out and for the first time since she was a child, she had her mother to cling to.

"Shh, shh," her mother soothed her. "You're okay. I'm here now. I'm here."

Steve felt like he was intruding on a very private moment. He took a step back, but Aspen's mom caught the motion and looked up at him.

"You kept her safe," she said to him gratefully.

"Not safe enough," he returned.

"You had no choice," Ava Tolvar told him. "Peter doesn't play by the rules."

"Peter?"

"Peter Stewart is his real name whatever he told you."

"P.S." Aspen's sobbing had softened, so Steve asked, "What does he want with us?"

"He thinks having you here – having Aspen – will give me the incentive to finish the serum or that Aspen will. I assume you followed the clues."

"We did."

"And you found everything?"

"Yes."

"Is the information safe?" Ava asked.

Steve nodded. "As safe as it can be."

"Good. Don't give it to him."

"What does he want with the serum?" Steve asked.

"He wants to create an army of highly developed men. A.I.M. is devoted to overthrowing governments using scientific means. They branched out from Hydra in the 60s. They think they can accomplish peace through war, through dictatorship."

"Sounds a lot like someone we know," Steve said, thinking of Loki.

Aspen finally pulled away from her mom and backed up a few steps until her back bumped into Steve's chest. Her mother clasped her hands in front of her, and Steve could tell she was trying to keep herself from overstepping her boundaries with Aspen. He was surprised that after her initial reunion with her mom, she was choosing to stay close to him for comfort instead of her. "He said he helped you with your research. What did he mean?" Aspen asked.

Ava sighed. "I think I need to start from the beginning," she said. "Let's sit down." She motioned toward a small sitting area toward the back of the lab. Steve saw a set of stairs that led up to a door, and he wondered if Aspen's mom lived up there. Clearly Peter Stewart was desperate to have the completed serum in his hands. He wondered just how long Aspen's mom had been captive.

Ava sat on the couch while Steve took the loveseat across from it. Aspen sat next to him, and again he saw the flicker of regret behind her mother's eyes. He realized in that moment that Aspen was choosing him over her own mother as a comfort source. It was both sad and gratifying. Aspen folded her legs up under her, leaning on his right arm. She set her eyes on her mom. "Okay," she said. "I want to hear the truth. From the very beginning. No more lies, no more secrets."

Her mom nodded. "No more lies," she echoed. "No more secrets."


	12. The Beginning

**10 – The Beginning – May 14, 2012**

"I met your father at university," Aspen's mother began. "We both had a gift for science and were particularly interested in the aspects of the brain that humans typically can't access. We started to develop the Neurological Potential Stimulus our sophomore year and had a pretty good grasp on the research by the time we graduated in 1984. During college, your father's good friend Peter Stewart had studied often with us, but despite his degree, he didn't have a gift for science like we did. His experiments and work always lived in our shadow though I'm not proud to say so. When some of our notes went missing, we didn't want to think the worst, but it became clear that he was trying to replicate our serum. Without all the information though, it was impossible to replicate, or so we thought. We didn't think much of it after we started working for SHIELD. We lost contact with Peter.

"It was just after we'd graduated that we were introduced to Joseph Danners. We were young and bright-eyed, never stopping to think that our research could be dangerous. Your Aunt Violet had joined our team with her biology degree and helped us develop the biological aspect of the serum. She had met Danners through a mutual friend. At the time he worked as the CEO for a company that made advanced armor for the military. Your aunt thought that our serum was something the government would be interested in. She made the mistake of going to Danners first."

"It's not her fault," Aspen said softly.

Her mother looked up at her in surprise. "Aspen, honey, she just let you walk straight into Danners's hands. She was supposed to protect you."

"No._ You_ were supposed to protect me. You and dad." There was an acid to Aspen's tone though she didn't raise her voice.

"We thought we were…" Aspen's mom put her face in her hands. "God help me, I thought that we were."

"What's done is done. I suppose you know I'm the one who pulled the trigger on Danners? Despite all he did to me, to our family, it still haunts me."

"I'm so sorry, Aspen."

"So Aunt Vi gave him some of the basic properties of the formula. What happened after that?"

"Danners was initially very interested, but our work wasn't ready. Vi was young and naïve. We all were. Danners had a few propositions for us to hear, but your father and I didn't like the way he spoke. He had that gleam of hunger in his eyes. Nothing good comes from that. We told him we weren't interested and that Vi had made a mistake offering up work that wasn't for sale. Danners retreated after some argument. A few years later, we heard that he had started an organization called ARTIFACT. He'd turned smuggler trying to get his hands on something powerful, selling to the highest bidder. SHIELD became aware of our research and asked us to work for them. We agreed. We needed somewhere to continue our work, and we thought SHIELD could keep us safe."

"We continued our research, and then on June 21st, 1990, you were born." She smiled at Aspen, pride in her eyes. "We promised you a safe and happy life, and we failed," she said wistfully. "I won't ever forgive myself for what you've been through." Her eyes flitted to the scar on Aspen's face. Steve had almost forgotten it was there, but the faded white line was a reminder that Aspen's life had not been easy. "We did everything we could to make your life a happy and normal one. We bought the Sunflower House, we cut back on our time at the lab. Somehow we couldn't let the project go though. We started working on a sort of subproject – the Immunity Serum that would prevent the mind from being susceptible to control. We were afraid someone would try to get information from us by force. Being so deeply enveloped in the science world, we heard rumors of such injections. We tested it on ourselves until we got it just right, and then we injected you."

Steve stiffened. He still didn't think someone so young should be injected with something like that, but he couldn't deny it had saved her a few times.

"It worked," Aspen said. "I was immune to mind control."

Aspen's mom nodded. "That's what we had hoped. Who tried to control you?"

"No one from this world. He came from another world entirely."

"New York… It happened during that catastrophe."

Aspen nodded. "I have a good friend who wasn't so lucky. He still suffers the aftereffects from the Tesseract's control over his mind." Ava's eyes widened. "Were you aware of the Tesseract's existence?" Aspen asked accusatorily.

"We studied it extensively at SHIELD," she answered. "After Howard Stark pulled it out of the arctic in 1945 looking for you," she glanced at Steve, "SHIELD tried to figure out how to harness the energy. We were able to harness some of the energy to use in our experiments. It was then that we realized that was our missing element. The Tesseract enabled the serum to bring out parts of our brains that we couldn't normally access. It could also be unstable." Her eyes flitted to Steve again, and she seemed nervous. "How did you meet?" she asked. "Stark looked for you, but no one could find you or the Valkyrie."

"SHIELD found me in April," he said. "Aspen was assigned to look after me, introduce me to the 21st century."

"I see." He could see the curiosity behind her eyes and knew she had more questions. "Doctor Erskine's work was inspirational. I wish I'd been able to meet him," she said. "The only sample of his work left is in your DNA."

"Steve's not a test subject," Aspen said protectively.

"I know that. I didn't mean to imply…"

"What did SHIELD want with the Tesseract?" Steve asked.

"They wanted to see if they could somehow use that energy. After weapons were suggested, we backed out of the research. We wanted no part of that. We didn't hear anything about their research once we weren't involved. SHIELD likes to keep its secrets. In May of 1994, we were warned by one of our men that Joseph Danners was coming for our research. He somehow knew we'd found the last element and had completed the serum. He had planted a spy just as we had. We took our research and hid it, encrypted it. We sent you to live with your aunt. By then she had retired from the science scene. She took you in with the promise to keep you safe. We faked the explosion using cadavers to make it look as if we'd died. We disappeared."

"Did you ever test your serum?" Steve asked.

"We did. One of our researchers volunteered to be the first. It was incredible, but unfortunately he died in an accident very soon after that. He saved twenty people from a collapsed building, but he didn't make it out alive. The serum stimulates the brain, but it doesn't make you physically stronger. He was our only subject. We moved around a lot the first year until we heard rumors of research going on in Everett, Washington that sounded very similar to our own work. We approached the facility and got jobs there using assumed names. We wanted to keep an eye on the research, to see if it really was ours. We realized at once that Peter Stewart must have sold the bits of our work that he had stolen. This organization we later learned was none other than A.I.M. We knew from SHIELD that they had no good intentions. We started to quietly sabotage the work being done there. I think the research leader, Doctor Adams suspected, but he didn't turn us in. I think he didn't quite realize what could go wrong with imperfect forms of the serum. After a few catastrophes, he began to question just what it was they were being asked to research. These researchers were very low on the A.I.M. hierarchy and weren't privy to a lot of information. We warned Adams of the damage that could be done, and he told us to run while we could before A.I.M. realized we were there. So we ran. We heard about an incident that had taken place there a few months later."

"We read about it. We were there," Aspen told her.

"Good. I had hoped you would find some evidence leftover, to realize that A.I.M. was involved. But I didn't realize you'd be caught… I didn't mean for that to happen."

"A.I.M. caught up to us there. So did another organization. A lot of people died. We nearly did."

"How did they capture you?" Ava asked, voice frail.

"They poisoned me. Only Stewart had the antidote. Steve had no choice but to let them take me."

Aspen's mom drew in a sharp breath. "I had no idea how far he would go. He forced me to make that call to you. I tried to give you everything you needed, but he got you anyway."

"I don't understand how you came to be here," Aspen said.

Aspen's mother sighed. "We didn't realize Peter had started working for A.I.M. He approached us in 2010. He said he was a professor at Columbia University. This surprised us. He'd had some skill in science, but he'd never thrived in the lab. His work had vastly improved though. In fact, he'd received some awards for some of his work."

"He went by Stewart Donovan when he was there," Aspen put in.

Aspen's mom nodded. "So we heard. We agreed to meet with him. He had a proposition for us. He wanted us to work with him. He wanted to continue our work on the Neurological Potential Stimulus. When we learned that he worked for A.I.M. we told him we weren't interested, but he didn't take no for an answer. He used forcible means, and we were hauled to Iceland and forced to continue our work under threat. We told him that all our research had been lost and that we would have to start from scratch. We'd hidden all the clues for you to find and had nothing with us. Of course we still remembered the formula without notes. Peter believed us at first. He provided us with the rudimentary work A.I.M. had received from him so long ago and then some clearer notes that Danners had sold to him. We dragged our feet for a year. That was when you became his student, and he realized we'd had a child. He took a keen interest in you. He'd tell me all about how well you were doing in his class and how he watched your work, waiting to see if you showed our skill at science. When you did, he hatched a plan. He said that he would force you to make the serum if we wouldn't. He threatened you. He didn't mention at first that you were working for SHIELD. We had learned about you working for Danners but only after he was dead. We realized just how much our plan to protect you had backfired.

"He kept threatening to bring you here. I pretended to work harder, but I knew we couldn't provide him with the serum. In his hands it was a weapon. Finally he got fed up. He…he took your father. I'm not sure where he is. I think he's still alive." Her voice cracked. "And when I heard he'd captured you…" She bowed her head in defeat. "I'm almost finished with recreating the serum."

"You can't just hand it over. He's going to use it for biological warfare. We just went through New York. We can't go through something like that again."

"That's where he wants to strike, I think. Before the city fully recovers."

"But what about the Avengers? Isn't he afraid of SHIELD?"

Her eyes flitted to Steve before she said, "Where are the Avengers now? Scattered? Do they have any idea what Peter and A.I.M. are planning? Does anyone even know you're here?"

"Clint Barton and Aunt Vi know. Clint works for SHIELD and is an Avenger. We have trackers," she lowered her voice. "They'll notice."

"Then let's hope they're looking for you. A.I.M. means to counteract the power of the Avengers with their own men. The Superhero Serum is their way of building an army."

"But you said the serum doesn't make you physically stronger. How are they going to stand against Captain America or the Hulk?"

"That's just it. Peter has been working on another project. It's called the Super-Adaptoid. I haven't been given specific information on it, but I think I understand the basic concept. He had me fiddle with the formula to get it on the right track. A.I.M.'s highest group of scientists have been working on developing a serum that can take powers that already exist and replicate them."

"That's why they wanted Steve." Aspen looked up at him, worry in her eyes. "Could they do that? Could they replicate his strength?"

Aspen's mom nodded. Steve felt a jolt of fear. "They could replicate every Avenger's power."

"With the Avengers fighting their own clones, how could they defeat an army of people injected with the Superhero Serum?" Aspen asked.

"Exactly. Now you see why I've been dragging my feet. But once they threatened you…"

"But Mom, this is bigger than me. Bigger than you. Bigger than all of us. We need to stop this from happening!" Aspen sat up straighter, putting her feet back on the floor.

"A.I.M. is too powerful," Ava said. "You can't defeat it. Not even with Captain America on your side."

Aspen stared at her in disbelief. "You're just giving up?"

"Don't you think I've tried to get out in the two years I've been here?" she asked. "I've tried everything, Aspen. I live in this lab. My room is upstairs, and I haven't been outside in months. I don't know if my husband is alive. I'm running out of options."

"Stewart is just a man. I've fought worse," Aspen said resolutely.

"There's something more you need to know about Peter," Ava said, leaning forward in her seat urgently. "He was-"

Before she could say more, the door to the lab opened again. She jumped to her feet as Peter Stewart stepped into the room. "Well, have you had the chance for a lovely chat?" he asked, clapping his hands together. "I was really hoping we could get started right away. We need that serum."

"What do you plan on doing with it?" Aspen asked, standing. Steve stood as well, hovering protectively at her side.

"As your mom said. She's got it all figured out, hasn't she?"

"You mean to build an army. Why is it so important to have that kind of power?" Aspen asked.

"It's not just about that," he told her. "I _need_ it."

"What do you mean?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"What your mother was about to tell you." He unbuttoned the cuff of his shirt. "I'm not doing so well, Aspen. I stole your little Immunity Serum because I thought that could help me, but that didn't do anything." He rolled up his sleeve and stuck his right wrist out to them. Aspen let out a low gasp. Steve looked down at the skin and saw a vivid black tattoo on the inside of the man's wrist. It read #3.

"You were #3," Aspen said. "You were injected with the serum at Research Facility 37."


	13. Under Threat

**11 – Under Threat – May 14, 2012**

"It was defective," Peter Stewart told them. Aspen couldn't stop staring at the #3 tattooed into his arm. "I had this inked on so that I would never forget. I've been looking for a cure all this time."

"I thought it had worked. I read the log."

He let out a humorless laugh. "It did, at first. I had a heightened sense for everything. I picked up skills in seconds. But then the pain started. At first it was just a migraine here and there but then it was abdominal pains and then stabbing pains. I saw a specialist and he said the serum was overloading my brain. My brain was fighting it off like a disease, and it came out in pain. He gave me ten years. That was in 1996. I've already outlived my expectations, but only through antidotes that have a very small effect on the serum. I need a pure serum to heal me and give me the powers I should have had."

"And the proper serum would cure you?" Aspen asked.

"It should correct the components in my brain that are malfunctioning. I joined A.I.M. ten years ago and worked my way to the top. I've been trying ever since to recreate the serum," Stewart said, turning his eyes to her. "Is it really asking for so much? One little sample?"

"If you were just trying to cure yourself, but it sounds like you want more than that," Aspen told him.

"I can't help myself. I want it all. What can I say? I'm ambitious."

"What if we made one dose of the serum?" Aspen asked.

"Then I'd make more. I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to pretend that I'm not going to use it to build an army. I don't like smoke and mirrors."

"And if we refuse?"

"Then who would you like to see die first? Ava, do you want to see your husband die? Your daughter? Aspen, do you want to see your parents die or your soldier?"

Aspen glared at him. Her mother looked at the floor.

"This isn't a negotiation. I'm just waiting to see who volunteers first before I start dropping bodies."

Aspen remained silent. She knew she would give in before she watched someone she loved die but people were going to die if she delivered the serum into Stewart's hands. She wanted to scream. She shouldn't have to be in this situation in the first place. The serum was a threat not a scientific marvel. It needed to be destroyed.

"I'm tired of playing this game," Stewart said. Before anyone could move, he grabbed Aspen, holding an arm around her neck. She struggled to free herself, but she was still weak from the poison. Steve made to move forward, eyes stormy with anger.

"Let go of her," he said.

"Are you going to make me, Captain?" Stewart said.

"This doesn't have to end badly. Just let her go."

"Make the serum!" he shouted at Ava. "Or your daughter dies right here and now. He pulled a syringe from his pocket and held it above Aspen's neck. "This poison doesn't take 24 hours, and I'm told it hurts a lot. Your muscles swell and then stiffen. It's like every inch of your body is trying to expand inside of your skin. You can't move, can't even think for the pain."

"Stop!" her mom shouted. "Just stop. I will make the serum for you! I will make it. Just leave her alone!" Her green eyes were vivid with fear and anger, and Aspen could see the strands of grey hair and the worry lines that hadn't been there before. She realized just how much she had been through since the explosion. Maybe realizing her parents hadn't had it easy either was the first step to forgiveness. Aspen waited to see how Stewart would respond. He lowered the syringe.

"No more of your tricks," he said.

"No more tricks," she promised.

Stewart pushed Aspen away from him, and Steve caught her, pulling her close. "Get started," Stewart said. "You two come with me. Reunion is over."

"I can help her," Aspen said.

"And plan your escape? I don't think so."

"How will I know she's safe?" her mom asked.

"I won't kill your incentive," he said. "I have no reason to kill her if you do your job. She was my best student after all." He jerked his head toward the door. Aspen looked at her mom.

"It will be alright," she said. "We'll figure a way out of this."

"I love you, Aspen."

"I love you, Mom."

She felt Steve's hand on her back as they left the lab. She suddenly wanted her mom so badly she had to force herself to keep walking. Only Steve's presence kept her going. She wasn't used to this feeling. To know that her mom was only a few feet away, the mom she'd thought she'd lost when she was four…it was nearly unbearable.

They traveled the same path they had taken before. Aspen's eyes darted everywhere, trying to find some weak spot. That wasn't the problem though. Even if they did escape, she had no idea how to get her mom out of her locked lab or where her father was or how to destroy any research that was dangerous in Stewart's hands. She touched her necklace and hoped that Clint was coming for them.

When they reached the open room that led up to their assigned room, she noticed that four guards had started trailing them. She tensed. Something was off. She took Steve's hand and squeezed it. He looked down at her, and she slid her eyes to the side. He glanced at the guards, frowning. Stewart paused before the stairs. "I think it's time we split you two up," he said.

Aspen's heart gave a jolt. "What? No!" She and Steve spun around as the guards closed in. Steve was ready blocking one blow and sending another guard reeling back, nose gushing blood. The other three worked on pinning him down. Aspen could tell they were highly skilled, but they didn't have Steve's strength or speed. He spun out of their grasp and kicked one of the guards into the wall hard enough to knock him unconscious. Aspen lunged at the guard with the bleeding nose as he came at Steve again. She grabbed him around the neck and tightened her grip until he struggled to breathe. He grappled against her arms, but she wouldn't let go. Finally he backed up and rammed into the wall. She loosened her grip, feeling dazed. He threw her off, and she landed hard on the floor. A jolt went up her leg painfully enough to make her cry out. In that moment, Steve lost his concentration as he looked to see that she was all right. One of the guards took advantage of his distraction and stabbed a syringe into his arm.

"Steve!" Aspen struggled to her feet, but Stewart grabbed her arm, holding her back. "What did you do to him?" she shouted.

"Just a little sedative to keep him under control," he said. Aspen was breathing hard, her anger threatening to overwhelm her. "We need a sample of his blood and to run some tests. It won't hurt much."

"He is _not_ some experiment," Aspen growled before slamming her left foot down on Stewart's foot and twisting out of his grip. He yelped in pain. Before she could reach Steve, however, one of the guards grabbed her. She tried to twist out of his grip, but he held her firmly. She watched in horror as the three remaining guards pinned Steve against the wall. One of them delivered a blow to his face.

"Stop it!" Aspen screamed. "Stop hurting him!" She turned on Stewart. "Why are you doing this?" she asked.

"I just wanted to see what kind of reaction you'd have to watching him get beaten. Seems even the Super Soldier bleeds," Stewart said. He looked on as the guards continued to punch Steve. Aspen fought the guard holding her, but his grip was too tight, and she was feeling dizzy again. She screamed in frustration.

"That's enough," Stewart said. "Take him to the lab." The guards pulled Steve up. Aspen could tell whatever sedative they'd injected him with was taking its toll. He tried to fight, but he couldn't seem to keep his balance. They dragged him away while Aspen watched on, unable to prevent it. Stewart turned to the guard holding Aspen. "Take her to her room and lock her in," he said.

"You disgust me," Aspen spat at him as the guard pushed her past him.

"Oh, honey, I'm just getting started."

…

Steve was hazily aware of what was happening to him as he was strapped down in a laboratory room. A needle attached to a blood bag was injected into his arm. Men dressed in white moved around him like he was a specimen. He couldn't seem to move his limbs, and his thoughts were sluggish. He was afraid for Aspen, but Stewart needed her alive. He began to fear for himself when he realized Stewart had no reason to keep him alive.

He fell in and out of consciousness as the scientists studied his blood. Finally the needle was removed and the men in white left. "I suppose I should thank you for helping me complete my Super-Adaptoid." Steve opened his eyes to look up at Peter Stewart. "Your blood was the final ingredient needed. I now hold the power of replicating your strength and agility and memory. With this I can make my army physically strong and with the Superhero Serum, I can give them endless possibilities of knowledge. We will be unstoppable. There's just one more thing I need before my army is complete. I think Aspen will be just the one to retrieve it for me. She has what I'd call the specific knowledge needed to retrieve it. And the perfect incentive. She'd do anything for you, you know."

Steve tried to speak, but found he couldn't. He settled on glaring at Stewart.

"You don't see it, do you? You both spend so much time wrapped in your pasts that you don't even see what's right in front of you. A soldier out of his time and a girl who keeps clinging onto the ghost of her future that will never be." He gave Steve a pitiful look. "It's sad really. You're running out of time. No matter. It will be over soon. I'm afraid you and Miss Tolvar won't live to see my army march on New York. They'll be one Avenger down, but I dare say they wouldn't stand a chance even with Captain America."

Steve twitched his finger, and Stewart followed the movement. "I see you're recovering your strength." He turned to someone behind him. "Take him back to his room," he said. "Tomorrow the Tolvar girl retrieves the Eye for me. Let them say their goodbyes."

…

Aspen paced back and forth across the room. She was numb with worry and fear. What if she never saw Steve again? What if they killed him? Stewart had said he was going to take a blood sample but for what purpose? Her thoughts flitted to the Super-Adaptoid her mother had mentioned. If they had his blood then could they replicate his powers? She stopped at the bed and pried the post off. There had to be something in her parents' notes that could help her take Stewart down. She flipped through the notes, rereading everything that had to do with A.I.M., but Stewart wasn't mentioned. She supposed they had no suspicions at that point. Their notes ended with the explosion. She shoved the phone back into the post, growing in frustration. Her leg was throbbing, but she continued to pace, biting her lip and trying to ignore the pain.

If Stewart hurt Steve, she was going to kill him. She stopped at this thought. Was this going to be another episode like with Danners? She let out a hysterical sort of sob at that thought. She didn't want to kill anyone, but she realized if it meant saving Steve, she would pull the trigger. She needed to find a way out of this room. She stopped her pacing and began a thorough search of the room. Twenty minutes later had yielded no weak spots. There were no windows, no vents or grates, and she doubted even Steve could break down the door. She found no hidden cameras or microphones, so that was a comfort at least.

Aspen finally sat down on the bed, exhausted. She kept looking at the door, expecting Steve to walk through at any moment, beaten up but alive. Her blood boiled at the thought of the guards punching him just because Stewart wanted to get a rise out of her. The thought of losing him was nearly too much for her. Panic threatened to consume her, and her vision blurred. She put a hand over her eyes, trying to breathe properly. When that didn't work, she curled up under the covers of the bed and tried to pretend that she was back in her apartment, Steve a few blocks away in his own. She tried to pretend that she was still in New York and that none of this had happened.

She somehow managed to fall asleep because she woke up to the sound of the door unlocking. She leaped to her feet as the door opened and two guards shoved Steve into the room. He fell to his hands and knees as the guards shut the door, locking it behind them.


	14. By Your Side

**Author's Note: **About time. About time.

* * *

**12 – By Your Side – May 14, 2012**

"Steve!" Aspen stumbled over to where he lay sprawled on the floor. His face was bruised and his lip cut. His right eye was slightly swollen. Aspen knelt next to him, putting her hands gently around his face. "Why did they have to do that?" she asked softly.

"People like him don't need reasons," Steve returned, wincing. "I'll be alright," he assured her. "I'm getting my strength back."

"What did they do to you?" Aspen asked fearfully.

"They took a sample of my blood. Stewart said that his Super-Adaptoid was complete with my blood. He can replicate my abilities now. I'm sorry, I tried to fight it."

Aspen shook her head. "It's not your fault. He won't stop. He's a bully. Bullies beat people up, they find what hurts you the most and keep doing it until you break."

"Are you alright? Did he hurt you?" Steve asked, his concern solely for her.

Aspen shook her head. "I'm not hurt. Not physically. Let's get you cleaned up." She stood and held out a hand for him. Though he took it, she noticed he didn't put any weight into her arm. She led him into the bathroom and found a clean washcloth before wetting it and dabbing at his face. Blood came away, smearing across the white washcloth. Aspen kept working gently until she'd wiped away the blood. She set the washcloth in the sink and then reached up and brushed her thumb across the top of his cheekbone next to his swollen eye. He watched her carefully, blue eyes steady.

"I thought I was never going to see you again," Aspen said, her voice breaking. "I couldn't stand that."

"I couldn't stand watching him threaten you. I felt so powerless. What use am I if I can't even protect you?" The anger in Steve's tone surprised her.

"This isn't your fault," she told him. She started to pull her hand away, but he reached up and caught it. Aspen could feel her pulse beating a frantic tempo out under her skin. She couldn't breathe properly. She and Steve were standing close, and Aspen felt herself leaning closer. Whatever this was between them, whatever they were feeling, she had the inkling that some of it was about to come out for better or for worse.

"Are we going to make it through this?" Aspen asked him suddenly frightened that she'd never get the chance to tell him how she felt. She wasn't sure she knew how she felt, but suddenly it was clear to her: she couldn't stand to be apart from him. He somehow made her life complete when before it had been missing so much. She felt safe with him and trusted him when neither came easy to her.

"Of course we are," he told her. "Sometimes when things look bleak, you just have to keep looking for something good."

"We're both still alive," Aspen said. "And we're together. When the guards took you away, I felt as if my whole world was collapsing." She surprised herself with her candidness, but it no longer seemed to matter. She had no reason to hide her feelings anymore if she ever did. All she knew was that she wanted to kiss him before she lost her chance. _So help me god, I'm falling in love with Captain America, _she thought to herself. For a second hesitation grew in her mind. He was a superhero, a legend. She was just a girl with a messy past and an uncertain future. But then she remembered that he was still just Steve, her friend and guardian. Nothing had changed.

Steve's eyes searched hers, and she could see his nervousness written out on his face. He could sense the emotions streaming between them, and he didn't know what to do about it. Aspen realized that it was a now or never situation, and Steve was too shy to make the first move. Her heart was beating so loudly that she could hardly concentrate on what she was doing. She reached up her free hand and cupped his face before leaning up and brushing her lips over his. She heard his sharp intake of breath and felt his hesitation. Then he put a hand on her waist and gently returned the kiss. Aspen felt like she was falling as he kissed her back. It was such a relief to know that she hadn't been alone in what she was feeling. Steve was holding her waist so carefully it was as if he thought she'd break. His lips on hers were so different than Loki's. Where their kiss had been all passion and anger, this was gentle and safe. Aspen tangled her fingers in his short blonde hair, and his grip tightened on her waist. Their other hands were still entwined.

The kiss deepened, and Aspen leaned into him until their bodies were pressed together. For a moment she could forget her fears and sorrow. She could forget where they were and what awaited them. She just wanted to sink into Steve's kiss forever.

When they finally broke apart, Aspen rested her forehead against his. They were both breathing hard. Whatever confusions she'd had about her feelings before had disappeared. She was falling in love with Steve Rogers. Maybe she had been for a long time. Maybe she had since the moment his blue eyes had met hers in the hospital room. She let go of his hand to put both arms around his neck, gently kissing him again.

He wrapped his other arm around her back, pulling her closer to him. There was something so familiar about him that any apprehension she'd had left her. It was as if she'd belonged right here in his arms all along, as if everything before had been leading up to this point.

Suddenly he drew in a sharp breath and pulled back. "Sorry, my lip," he apologized. Aspen's eyes went to the cut.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said.

"It's okay." He smiled at her. His cheeks were flushed, and she realized hers were too. They were suddenly shy again. "Stewart found both our weaknesses," he said suddenly.

"Each other." Aspen sighed, and they pulled apart. She leaned back against the bathroom counter, suddenly too exhausted to stand. "I feel like I'm going to collapse I'm so tired, but I'm afraid to close my eyes."

"I'll be right here with you," Steve told her. "You should sleep. I'll stay awake."

"No, you're exhausted too. We'll both sleep. I know I'll wake up if I hear anything. We both need our strength."

"There's something Stewart said. My mind was still hazy when he said it, but he mentioned something he was going to send you to retrieve. The 'Eye.' Does that mean anything to you?"

Aspen frowned and shook her head. "No. Nothing. Did he say where he was sending me to get it?"

"No. He said he was sending you tomorrow though. I won't let him take you."

"You might not have a choice. Let's not worry about that right now." She took his hand and led him to the bed where they kicked off their shoes and curled up under the blankets. Steve wrapped his arms around Aspen, and she curled up next to him, her head rested on his shoulder. They had slept like this before, but tonight Aspen felt the change. There was much less hesitation, but he was still the same Steve he had always been. It made her heart gallop to think that he cared for her as much as she cared for him – at least she hoped he did. She lay awake for a long time and though she knew he was awake too, they didn't talk. When she finally fell asleep, she was able to forget everything that had happened the last few days. Nightmares made themselves scarce and even in her sleep she smiled.

…

Steve could tell Aspen had fallen asleep when her breath deepened. His mind was racing with thoughts of their kiss. He could still feel her lips on his, soft as velvet, and her fingers in his hair. His pulse still raced at the thought. He had been so relieved to see that she was safe and when she had told him how fearful she had been for him – well, it felt nice to have someone care that much. To think that he meant that much to someone as incredible as Aspen… He knew he cared about her. He couldn't stand the thought of losing her. Whatever Stewart had planned for her couldn't be good. What frightened Steve the most was that Stewart had the means to incapacitate him. He was working on replicating his abilities, and he had shown that he could neutralize him. He was terrified that he wouldn't be able to protect Aspen when the need arose. There was too much at stake here. He knew that if it came down to protecting family and handing over the serum, Aspen and her parents would hand it over to keep each other alive. He would gladly forfeit the information if it meant saving Aspen's life. They could figure out how to bring down A.I.M. later. For now he just needed her to be alive.

He thought back to Stewart's remark about him being out of his time. That was true in every sense, but he realized that he had stopped thinking so much about the life he could have had. He hadn't stopped caring about Peggy – he never would, but he could finally move on and accept that they were never going to have a life together. But Aspen and him… The thought that they might have a life together – if they ever got through all this – made him happier than he could have ever imagined. His future wasn't just an empty slate anymore.

He reached up and brushed a strand of red hair off of her face, letting his fingers trail down her cheek. He shut his eyes and tried to fall asleep but sleep eluded him. The room felt too much like a prison for him to feel comfortable. Only Aspen's warm body next to him kept him from tearing down the walls to escape. She had been so strong the last few days. Anyone else wouldn't have been able to take the amount of stress and shock she'd been through. Aspen shouldered it though and didn't ask for help.

Steve eventually fell asleep because suddenly he was on the train again in 1945 with the wind from the open door howling in his face. He leaned out of the open door, watching as the winter scenery dropped away from a sheer cliff. Fighting off vertigo, he looked down to where Bucky was hanging. It wasn't Bucky hanging there though; it was Aspen. She held onto the broken bar with one hand. She looked up at him with wide green eyes and he could see the fear in them.

"Aspen! Hold on." He reached out a hand. The bar gave a groan. Aspen reached up toward his hand, but the bar gave way. She screamed as she fell. "Aspen!" Steve watched helplessly as she fell. His heart gave a jolt and he awoke with a start to the sound of someone opening the door to their room.

…

Aspen awoke with a start as the door unlocked. She and Steve were on their feet before the door had fully opened. They both tensed, ready to fight. Stewart entered the room along with two guards. "I hope you slept well," he said genially. "We have a lot of work to do today. Aspen, I'm relying on you to help me with something."

"Why should I do anything for you?" she asked. "You've threatened me, threatened my friends, threatened my family."

"And will keep doing so if you don't do this for me." He nodded toward the open door. "If either of you try to fight me, I will not hesitate to put a bullet in the soldier's head. As of six hours ago, he lost his usefulness. We have his blood. I have no further use for him. Right now you're the only one keeping him alive, Aspen. But if you refuse to do this, if you try to cross me, he will die."

Aspen swallowed hard. "What do you need me to do?" she asked.

"Perfect. I thought we'd come to an agreement. Come with me." Aspen glanced at Steve before they followed Stewart out of the room and back toward her mother's lab. As they entered, Aspen saw her mom standing nervously at a counter holding a syringe of clear liquid.

"It's finished," she told Stewart. She gave Aspen a fleeting smile. "Just take it and let her go."

"Not so fast. There's something I need Aspen to retrieve for me."

Aspen's mom tensed. "That wasn't part of the deal. You told me you'd release Aspen once I handed over the serum."

"I said I'd let Aspen go once I got what I needed. This isn't all I need." He snatched the syringe from Aspen's mom. "Once I inject my soldiers with both the Superhero Serum and the Adaptoid, they will be superior, but that presents a new problem. How do I keep them in order? How do I control them? Then I realized I knew just the object." He pulled a copy of an ancient looking manuscript out of his pocket. "This is the answer." They looked down at a drawing of an eye-shaped object. Aspen had no idea what it was. "The Warlock's Eye," Stewart said. "It has the power to control multiple minds at once. With this, I can control my army completely. But I don't have it. It's hidden far away which is where you, my dear, come into play."

"You said last night that Aspen had the specific knowledge to acquire it," Steve spoke up. "What did you mean?"

"Well, that's where this gets tricky. This particular artifact lies in a treasure chamber that doesn't exist on this planet; in fact, it's somewhere entirely different. The Warlock's Eye rests in Odin's treasure chamber in Asgard."

Silence met his words. "You're joking, right?" Aspen said finally. "That's impossible."

"Not impossible. Difficult, yes, but not impossible. I think you're aware of this research." He pulled out a folder and held it out to them. The front read Einstein-Rosen Bridge, and Aspen nodded, surprised by the sudden resurface of the research.

"I stole some research on that when I used to work for ARTIFACT."

"The theory has been greatly studied by scientists over many years. Do you understand the concept?"

"I didn't read the notes."

"In short, an Einstein-Rosen Bridge is a portal of sorts to another universe. Two black holes align themselves and create a passage between worlds. Travel is possible. Fortunately some of my researchers have discovered such a spot that is what we might call a glitch in the universe. It will allow you to travel through worlds to Asgard. Travel is imprecise, but we've tested this particular portal and found that it does, indeed, line up with Asgard."

"That's insane. I'm not going to Asgard to retrieve some sort of mind control device for you," Aspen said, shaking her head.

"I'm not giving you a choice," he said. "You can either retrieve the Eye or watch your soldier die."

Aspen looked at Steve whose eyes were hard. They softened as he met her gaze. "You don't have to do this," he said.

"Of course I do," she whispered. She turned back to Stewart. "I'll do it, but how am I supposed to break into Odin's treasure room?"

"Were you not a smuggler in your past life? You have that skill set."

"Is that what you meant? I'm not _that_ good."

"That and I know you had a close relationship with an Asgardian during his time in New York." Stewart watched her carefully.

"_Loki_?" Aspen scoffed. "I wouldn't call us close."

"You were close enough."

"What does that have to do with this?" she asked, wondering how he knew about her and Loki.

"It's simple. You're going to get Loki's help with breaking into the vault. If anyone knows how, it will be him."

"I don't even know where he is or if he's still alive," Aspen said.

"He's alive. He's serving a life sentence in Asgardian prison. My spies have kept me informed." Aspen wasn't sure how to feel about this. She felt relief that he wasn't dead, but she also felt pity that he would spend the rest of his life in prison. Of course he had brought that on himself with his actions in New York. "But you're going to need some extra help." Stewart fingered the injection. He walked toward her. She wanted to back up, but she stood her ground. "Before I cure myself with this serum, I'm going to make sure it works." Before anyone could act, Stewart sunk the needle into Aspen's arm. She cried out in pain.

"No!" her mom screamed.

Aspen felt an intense pain burning inside of her body. She was aware of the needle leaving her flesh and then aware of falling backwards, someone catching her, and then a blinding pain that consumed her body like fire.

"That wasn't meant for her," she could hear her mom say in the background.

"I know. I had a feeling you might try to taint it, so I decided to test it on your daughter."

"It will kill her!" she said, her voice distraught.

"Yes, I imagine so," Stewart said with no emotion. "How long does she have? Will it slowly kill her like me or will it act quickly?"

"It was mean to kill you within a few days. She might last a week." Aspen could hear that her mother was crying.

"You see that's the problem with trying to be clever. I can always outthink you. She has a week to retrieve the Eye and you have a week to come up with the correct serum for both of us."

Aspen's head was beginning to clear. The pain was dulling to a steady throb. When she opened her eyes everything was so much clearer. She noticed things she never had before. Every spec of dust in the air was defined. She could process her surroundings with little effort. She could tell that something was not quite right though. The pain wouldn't completely subside, and something in her brain was registering as wrong. She realized she was in Steve's arms as he knelt on the floor. She looked up at him. His brows were furrowed, and she could see both the anger and the worry reflected in them.

"I'm okay," she whispered.

"No you're not. Did you hear what he injected you with?" he growled.

"Yes. I have a week. I just have to get back before then." She got to her feet, and Steve pulled her up, holding onto her waist protectively.

"Put this right," he growled at Stewart.

"I will once I get what I want," Stewart replied, unfazed. "I'm a man of my word. Now. The car is ready, so let's get going. I'll get you any weapons and equipment you need."

"I'm coming," Steve said, tightening his grip on Aspen's waist.

"No, I don't think so. She needs some incentive to come back, after all. You'll be staying here to help Mrs. Tolvar with her work."

Aspen looked up at Steve. "I don't see a way out of this," she said. "I'll be back though. I promise." His eyes were vivid with emotions, and he didn't loosen his grip on her until she pulled his hand loose. "I will come back," she said again.

"You don't know that." She had never heard so much raw pain in Steve's voice. It broke her heart. She reached up and cupped is face in her hand, careful to avoid touching the bruises. She looked into his eye.

"I have a good reason to come back," she told him.

He pressed his forehead against hers. Stewart cleared his throat, and Aspen kissed Steve's cheek before pulling away. She backed away from him, feeling Stewart close his hand around her arm. "Don't try to come after me," she told him desperately. "I can't watch you die. Promise me." Steve shook his head. "Promise me."

"I promise," he finally said. "Just be safe."

Aspen gave him a small smile before Stewart pulled her away.

"Aspen, I'm so sorry," her mom said. She pulled Aspen into a hug. Stewart let go of her arm for a second.

"You were just trying to save me," Aspen said, putting her arms around her mom. "Just like before." Her mom gave a sob. "I forgive you," Aspen told her. She gently pulled away and, giving Steve one last glance, turned to follow Stewart out of the lab. She felt like her heart was being torn in two, but she was not going to put Steve at risk. She took a deep breath and followed Stewart out to the awaiting car. They drove through the vivid green scenery and toward the mountains in the distance. Her mind registered the temperature of the car and how fast they were going like a machine. She hated it. She tried to shut off her brain, but it was reeling, soaking in every bit of detail around her.

She shut her eyes and held her head in her hands. All the emotions – rage, fear, sorrow – were boiling in her head. She felt like she was going to explode. The sound of cracking glass startled her. She looked up to see that the window next to her had cracked in the middle with lines crawling out like spider webs. Stewart looked back in surprise and then smiled.

"Did I do that?" Aspen asked softly.

"You did, indeed. It's amazing the abilities you'll discover you have."

"I don't want this," Aspen said.

"But I do. You'll thank me once you get into Asgard."

They kept driving until they turned onto a side road that led them into some low mountains. Finally the driver stopped the car and they got out. "This way," Stewart said, indicating a narrow pathway that led downward. "After you." Aspen started down the hill, aware of every little detail around her. She focused on her feet which seemed to move more lithely than ever before. A small lake appeared in the distance. Aspen hesitated as she reached the edge. She sensed it before she saw the glitch. In the middle of the lake was a small island and on that island, between the tall blades of grass, was an invisible curtain. She could just barely see the edges where the portal was.

"You'll need these." Stewart had come up behind her and handed her a belt loaded with weapons and devices that she had never seen before yet understood how to use. She strapped it around her waist half tempted to use them on him. Stewart handed her a grey coat which she pulled on over the belt, blocking the weapons from view.

"Get in, get the Eye, and get out," he instructed her. "Your soldier's life depends on it."

Aspen gave him a curt nod before diving into the water. She swam with powerful strokes toward the island though she had never been a strong swimmer before. It wasn't that she was stronger, just that her brain knew just how to make her glide through the water as quickly as she could. When she pulled herself, dripping water, onto the island, she studied the tear in the fabric of the universe for a moment. Then, with a deep breath, she plunged into the portal.


	15. Into the Fire

**13 – Into the Fire – May 15, 2012**

It was like stepping into fire and ice all at once. Aspen felt as if her body was being ripped apart and then put back together. Then it stopped. She realized she'd closed her eyes and quickly opened them to find herself standing at the very edge of a sharp precipice. She took a step back, flattening herself against the rock wall behind her. A wind was howling, and she felt it tug her toward the edge. Feet planted firmly, she looked around her surroundings. The cliffs she rested on were not made of rock, but stone, she realized. It was a statue. She could see the rippling of the portal hidden in a crevice behind the statue. Then she noticed what must be the Asgardian Palace shining in the distance. She sucked in her breath. It was incredible. Golden spires reached up to the sky in a graceful ascent. To her it looked like organ pipes that reflected the sun with a brilliant almost blinding glare. It took her breath away. Asgard was beautiful. In all the time she'd known Loki, she'd never even wondered just what his world looked like. His world was breathtaking.

Water flowed all around her under golden bridges that connected the city. She could see a glimmer of color and realized that must be the Rainbow Road that led to the Bifrost. Though she'd spent quite a bit of time with Thor and Loki, it still felt completely surreal to be in their world – an entirely different world from her own.

She looked downward and her mind calculated the distance to the ground. If she climbed, she could make it down to the bridge which would take her into the city. The city itself was a series of buildings and golden architecture like something from the future. She could see elements of rather medieval architecture too, but there was no question that their culture was more advanced. Hovercrafts flew by in the distance. Aspen was able to push aside her newfound powers for a moment and simply gawk at the city. It seemed to be nearing sunset and the colors that were cast upon the reflective gold of the palace were incredible. Cleary time moved a little differently here than on Earth. She suppressed her desire to start quoting _Star Wars_ as another hovercraft passed and began her decent.

She'd never scaled a mountain or, in this case, a statue before, but she found that the skill came easily to her now. She could judge distance and the strength of a hand and foot hold with a single glance. When she was close enough to the ground, she leapt down, landing on a stone bridge that led into the city. She found with a start that her leg was feeling completely healed. She'd forgotten that she was injured in all the chaos of the night before. She took a deep breath and started walking.

Her brain alerted her to an approaching person a moment later, and she ducked behind some shrubs. An Asgardian guard passed by, and she could tell how old he was and how much he weighed by the lines around his face and the distance between footfalls. She shook her head clear of the irrelevant information and waited until he had passed before resuming her journey to the palace. Some of the buildings on the outskirts of the city seemed to be houses, and she saw a laundry line up in one small yard. A grey cloak waved in the breeze, and she stole into the yard and snatched it, looking around to make sure that no one had seen. She tossed the jacket Stewart had given her in to the bushes, glad to be rid of it. It smelled like the lab and her heightened sense of smell made it all the more pungent. She wrapped herself in her cloak and felt decidedly more Asgardian.

When she resumed her walk into the city, she fought off the instinct to hide every time someone passed her. _They'll only notice you don't belong here if you act like you don't belong here_, she told herself, keeping her feet going in a steady pace. The architecture became continuously more beautifully the deeper into the city she travelled. Waterfalls fell away down below and, as she crossed a bridge, she paused to enjoy the scenery. Then she remembered what was at stake and hurried on. The lingering pain in her head was still there like the remnants of a headache that wouldn't quite go away.

She wondered how she was going to get into the dungeons. She supposed if she dressed like a guard she might not be questioned but how would she find a guard's uniform? Also she had no idea where the dungeons were. The palace that had looked vast from a distance looked monstrously huge up close. She wondered if Thor was there now. Why hadn't she thought of that before? Surely he would help her. But would he? She'd be asking him to help her steal one of the things his father had stowed away for a good reason. She knew his father would never agree to it, and she couldn't ask Thor to go against him. And then there was the matter of Loki. Aspen knew he was her best hope. Thor would never agree to help her if he knew she was working with Loki. She'd just have to keep a low profile. She hadn't interacted much with Thor while he was in New York, but he would probably recognize her. She remained extra cautious as she continued on.

When she entered the palace she thought the guards would stop her, but they didn't even look at her as she passed. She found a deserted corridor and stopped, pressing her fingers against her head and trying to figure out what she was going to do next. That's when her brain exploded into a blueprint of the Asgardian palace. She yelped, terrified that her mind was now that advanced. She wanted to push the blueprints out of her head – it was like she had something not quite human in her brain and she hated it, but she knew how useful the map would be. She shut her eyes and focused.

…

"My daughter is very fond of you," Ava Tolvar said to Steve as they stood in the lab an hour after Aspen had left. Steve was absentmindedly staring at the wall and realized he'd been standing like that for a long time, his thoughts miles away. Ava was working at her table, swilling a beaker of blue liquid over a Bunsen burner.

"I'm fond of her too," Steve said. He looked over at Ava suddenly feeling like he needed her approval to feel that way. She might not have been there for most of Aspen's life, but she was still her mother, and he respected that.

"It's alright," Ava said, giving him a small smile. "Aspen's not a child anymore, she can make her own choices. She definitely could have done worse."

Steve ducked his head. "I'm the lucky one," he said.

"You're not what I imagined, you know," Ava said. "Of course I've seen the news reels, know what you did back in the 40s. I know you were involved with New York, but none of that went to your head. You're humble and don't think yourself above other people. Unlike some." She looked darkly toward the door, and Steve knew she was thinking about Stewart.

"I'm not anyone special. I'm just a man who was given the opportunity to help people. I wanted to do that before the serum but no one would give me a chance. Not until I met Doctor Erskine."

"You do know why he picked you?"

"He told me that a strong man already knows power and might lose respect for it if he gained more but a weak man who doesn't know power values strength and compassion."

"He was a wise man," Ava said.

"Yes, he was."

"I'm sorry he didn't get the chance to see you become the man you are. I can see that compassion and see how you value your strength. You don't let it get to your head, don't assume that you'll always come out on top."

"I'm still the same man I was before, I just have a few life experiences that have made me stronger."

"Aspen too. I'm so proud of the woman she's turned into. She's fearless and bold and doesn't let her emotions break her down. Everyone needs to break down once in awhile, but she has such a control over herself. You've been a great help to her. I'm just sorry I missed this transformation."

"She's one of the most incredible people I know," Steve agreed.

"Have you told her that?" Ava asked with a smile.

"Not enough…" His cheeks colored a little. Ava smiled wider.

"She thinks you're incredible too. I can tell. Her eyes light up any time you're near her, and she sticks to your side like she belongs there."

"When I woke up in this world, she was the first person who really took an interest in me. Everyone else wanted something from me or gawked over the fact that I was Captain America. She was the first person to really see me for who I was – as Steve Rogers and not a 'superhero' from another time. She didn't have to befriend me but she did. After awhile it felt lonely when she wasn't there like there really wasn't much for me without her."

Ava was watching him with a sad smile on her face. "I wish that you weren't involved in this," she said. "This is no life."

"I don't think either of us has lived much of a normal life. I'm not sure we ever will. She wanted so badly to find you. I don't think she would have stopped until she did."

"This is all my fault."

"That's not what I meant," he hurried to stay, but Ava held up a hand.

"It is. Mine and Gregor's. My sister had reservations about the project. She said it would never lead to anything good because people can't handle that kind of power. She was right, but we didn't listen. Now look at the mess it's made. Everything up to this point, everything bad that has happened to Aspen, was because of this serum. We should have put our child's safety first, but in the end, we never put anything above our work." Steve could tell she was close to tears. He wasn't sure what to say or do, but then Ava seemed to compose herself. "I'm going to make this right," she told him. "No matter what it takes."

She turned back to her work, and Steve contemplated her words. If none of this had ever happened then Aspen would never have worked for SHIELD and they would never have met. Would he give that up, give_ her_ up, if it meant she faced none of the loss or hardships she'd dealt with her entire life, if it meant she still had her family? Yes, he would. He ached to think of a life without Aspen, but he would give her up if it meant she could have a normal, happy life. He thought about what she'd said when he'd asked her if she would go back if she could and live out her life the way it should have been. _I wish I had grow up with my parents, wish I'd never met Danners, but like you, I wouldn't give up the people I know now. Clint, you. I think sometimes normal is overrated._ Her words resonated in his head as he remembered their conversation on the drive to Everest.

It didn't matter anyway. Neither of them could go back, and Steve realized he didn't want to go back. Having to redefine life as he knew it, adapt to a completely different time, it was difficult but he had grown stronger through it. He wondered how Aspen was handling Asgard. He knew that if anyone could accomplish the near impossible feat Stewart had assigned her, it was her. The thought of her working with Loki made his hackles rise, but he also knew that Loki was probably her best shot at breaking into the vault. If anyone knew how, it was the Asgardian trickster.

"She'll be okay, you know," Ava said softly. Steve started at her voice, so lost in his own thoughts.

"How can you know that?" he asked.

"Because she has to. She has to come back. Aspen's a fighter, and she will fight until her last breath."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

…

Aspen found her way down to the dungeons easily thanks to the map in her brain that was beginning to creep her out. She'd found a guard's uniform and had put it on. It was a little baggy, but she could hide that under her cloak. The helmet she wore nearly slid down over her eyes, so she'd shoved a cloth into the top to settle it a little higher on her head. She was sure she looked ridiculous, but nobody batted an eyelash as she passed. The dungeons were guarded, but she walked past the guards with no trouble and entered. There were no guards down here, but she imagined their security system was something more than locks and keys. When she first glimpsed the cells, they confirmed her suspicions. There were no iron bars on these cells. The walls were made up of some sort of energy field she suspected would electrocute the prisoners. A quick scan of the walls confirmed this as her brain worked in overdrive. She carefully stepped forward, ignoring the curious stares of the inmates. Her heart began to beat out a very fast tune, and she was sweating under the layers of clothing and armor. With every new cell, her heart gave a jolt, expecting to see Loki. Finally she had reached the last one. She took a deep breath and walked to the front of the cell, looking through the opaque energy field.

His eyes flashed to her immediately, and for a moment there was no recognition. He narrowed his eyes as she continued to stand there. "I suggest you either move on or say something," he said. "Right now you're invading my privacy." The snarky tone was still there, and Aspen forgot for a moment that New York had ever happened. When she didn't move or speak, Loki narrowed his eyes. "Cat got your tongue?" he asked.

Aspen shook her head and reached up to pull the golden helmet from her head. "Hello, Loki," she said.

Loki stared at her in disbelief, not saying anything. It was the first time Aspen had seen him utterly wordless. "How are you here?" he finally asked, his words coming out in a hiss.

"I came through a portal. I'm here on a mission of sorts. People's lives are at stake."

"So you travelled all the way here to save people? Still putting your own life at risk for worthless humans."

"That's what heroes do, isn't it?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"So you've accepted that you're one of them now," he said, giving her a penetrating stare.

"No. I'm still just Aspen," she said.

"Where are your friends?" he asked.

"The Avengers? I'm not sure. Only Steve came with me."

"Ah, yes, the soldier." His eyes darted around for a moment before resettling on her.

"I came to Asgard alone. Listen, I don't have a lot of time to explain, so I'll give you a short reason for why I'm here and what I need."

Loki gestured for her to continue. "By all means. I'm not going anywhere," he said, bitterness souring his tone.

"I'm looking for a certain object that happens to reside in your father's – in _Odin's_ treasure chamber." Loki narrowed his eyes, and she could see the curiosity and interest darting behind them. She took a deep breath and continued. "I need to break into there and retrieve the Warlock's Eye."

Loki was silent for a long moment. "And why would you need such an object? To control that super soldier of yours?"

Aspen bristled. "This has nothing to do with Steve. Well, his life is at risk if I don't retrieve it, but I'm not using it on him. I'm not using it at all."

"Then why do you need it?"

"_I _don't need it. But there's someone who does. Someone who took us captive. He has my mother and father too. He'll kill Steve if I don't return and probably my parents too."

Loki seemed to consider this. "Why does this person need the Eye?"

"He wants to build an army and have control over it. It's a long story, but he got ahold of my parents' research and has the ability to create an army of people with highly developed brains. He also found a way to harness Steve's strength and heightened abilities. Basically he's finding a way to counteract the Avengers."

"I'm not seeing the downside to that."

Aspen glared at him. "It will be New York all over again only this time you won't be the one trying to take the throne. Do you really want some power-hungry human succeeding where you failed?"

Loki narrowed his eyes. "I doubt he could succeed."

"I don't. I think he has the tools he needs to build an unstoppable army."

"So why are you retrieving this for him if you want to stop him?" Loki asked, feigning disinterest.

"Did you not hear the part where Steve's life is at risk?"

"I heard, but I don't really care."

"Or my parents? He'll kill them too. Then I really will be an orphan." She saw a flicker of emotion behind Loki's eyes before it was quickly masked.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked.

"Help me."

"I can't do much from in here," he said.

Aspen sighed. "Yes, I know. That's why I'm going to release you."

"I won't argue with that, but why should I help you help someone who's trying to create the chaos I should be creating? This is Odin's treasure chamber we're talking about after all. It's not child's play getting in."

"I know that and I know it's asking for a lot. Believe me, I don't want to deliver this into his hands but I'm not seeing another way out. He has no reason to keep Steve alive if I don't bring it back."

"You don't strike me as the type to give up so easily. I know you better than that." Aspen looked at Loki and saw something that looked like pride shining there. It surprised her.

"I'm not giving up. There's another reason why I need to get back." She looked down for a moment before meeting Loki's keen eyes again. "Before I left I was injected against my will with a defective serum. If I don't get back within a week I'll die."


	16. Odin's Treasure Chamber

****Author's Note: ****I have SO much fun writing Aspen and Loki's banter. I just had to include him in this story some how. Have you guys seen Loki'd with Tom Hiddleston? It is so freaking hilarious. You should watch it.

* * *

**14 – Odin's Treasure Chamber – May 15, 2012**

Loki stared at the girl standing before him, her last words echoing in his head. _I'll die…I'll die…I'll die… _He fought against the part of him that felt like it was collapsing under her words. Her green eyes met his defiantly as she waited for a response. For once he had no idea what to say. Here was this human girl who had caused him so much grief and so much happiness, and she was telling him that she was dying. The fury that built up inside of him at whomever had hurt her surprised him. He fought back the wave of magic that wanted to send objects flying and gave Aspen a nod.

"I'll help you," he said.

"Thank you." The relief in her eyes was vivid. She was really afraid though she'd never admit it. "How do I get you out?" Her eyes went blurry for a moment, and Loki was afraid it was a symptom of whatever the serum was doing to her. Then she looked up. "I'll be right back." Before he had the chance to ask what she was doing or tell her how to get him out, she disappeared from sight. He took the chance to compose himself. His surprise at seeing Aspen hadn't yet faded nor had the happiness at seeing her again. He scowled. Why did she keep coming back into his life at the worst times? And why did she trust him? After all he'd done, after he'd stabbed her in the back, played with her emotions to see if she'd take the cuff off of him, she still sought his help. She was clearly desperate, but was she really going to blindly trust him just to save someone? Then he realized why she was so desperate – she clearly didn't want to die but saving herself would never be her first thought in a situation like this. She was in love with the soldier. She was doing this for him. Loki wanted to turn away from the deal, but he couldn't when her life was at risk too.

Suddenly the force field around his cell went down. A few moments later, Aspen came jogging back. "How did you do that?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

"I, er, just sort of figured it out."

He could tell she was lying, but didn't press her. He wasn't going to argue as long as he was free. "They'll notice I'm gone." He mirrored an image of himself in the cell. Aspen jumped, still not used to his magic. "Put the walls back up. They won't realize it's not really me in there until it's too late." Aspen frowned, biting her lip, but led him back to the control panel where she'd opened the cell.

"What's our plan?" she asked when she was done. She turned to look at him for guidance, and he was once again surprised by the amount of trust she seemed to be putting in him.

"Do you really trust me to help you? You just set me free. I could go anywhere I wanted now. I could project a fake version of me to trick you."

"No, you couldn't," she said with a frown.

"Ah, I see, you have one of those handy little cuffs with you. I should have destroyed all of them when I had the chance," he said lightly. He could only imagine Aspen's rage if she found out the cuff had never stopped him before, had never worked on him. That he'd only wanted to test her to see if she'd trust him enough to take it off herself. The trickster in him hadn't been able to resist.

Aspen shook her head. "I can sense your body heat. Your projections don't have that. They're just flat, no life force around them."

"You can sense all that?" He raised an eyebrow.

"When I told you I was injected with something I forgot to mention that it was a brain stimulant. Basically I have full access to my entire brain right now."

"So that's why you're not afraid of me betraying you. You could outsmart me."

"Something like that. Also, you kind of owe me a favor."

"Do I?"

"I could have killed you a few times in New York, and I didn't. Also I could have turned you in to SHIELD the moment you fell to earth, but I didn't. Clearly that was a big mistake, but I'm willing to set that aside if you just help me willingly. Could we at least be friends?"

He studied her face, so sweet and innocent though he knew she was all fire and passion on the inside. "You want to be my friend?" he asked, weighing out the words.

"Yes?" She tilted her head, green eyes dewy.

"Now who's manipulating who?" he asked, refusing to acknowledge the effect she was having on him. "Fine. Friends."

"Shake on it. Promise you'll help me." She stuck out her hand.

Amused, Loki shook his head. "Last time I shook on something with you, you cut off my powers."

"I told you I don't have a cuff with me," she said. "Don't you trust me?"

_Did_ he trust her? He deliberated with himself and finally took her hand. She gave it a firm shake and let go. "See?" She smiled. "Now how do we break into Odin's treasure chamber?"

…

They found their way to a section of the palace Loki knew would be empty. He opened the door and motioned for Aspen to walk in first. She lifted an eyebrow at his chivalry, but entered.

"You look ridiculous in that guard outfit," he told her once he had shut the door.

"Well I can't help that. It worked." She frowned down at the outfit. "Where are we?" She looked around the room with mild interest.

"My room."

She turned to look at him, and he waited for the reaction he knew was coming. "You brought me to _your_ room?" she asked. "What for, trying to seduce me again?"

"As I recall, you had an equal part in that," he told her.

Aspen's cheeks flushed. "Not true," she said. "Anyway, that has nothing to do with this. Ancient history. I'm not stupid enough to make that mistake again."

"No, you've got your soldier now," Loki said, fighting to keep the bitterness out of his tone.

Aspen's lips rose in a smirk. "You're jealous," she said with an infuriatingly knowing look.

"Jealous?" he scoffed. "Don't flatter yourself."

She took a stride forward, smile still in place. Clearly insults weren't going to deter her. "No," she said. "That's like the tenth time you've brought up Steve. You're jealous of him."

Loki scowled. "I don't see what I have to be jealous of."

"Insult me all you like," she told him, "but I'm not buying it." She turned away and continued to survey his room. "You never mentioned how gorgeous your home is or that you grew up in a palace."

"I thought it was implied."

"I got that you were in line for the throne, but I guess I'd never thought of you as a prince," she said. "You do act like one though."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"You spend half your time plotting to take over one throne or another. It's all about the self-edification for you."

Loki shrugged. "I know what I want. Why shouldn't I fight for that? It's my birthright."

"We're not going to argue about this right now," she told him. She coughed. "Now why did you bring me here?"

"Because no one is going to come in here. We can talk safely." He paced in front of the window, folding his hands behind his back. "I can't see the city from my cell," he said softly. "For over a month I haven't seen daylight or moonlight." The sun had faded, and he wished that it would come back, but the moonlight was better than his cell. He opened the window to let the cool night air in.

He heard Aspen walk up behind him. "I'm sorry," she said, and he could tell she meant it. He turned to look at her, his heart stirring with that same unfamiliar sensation he always felt around her. He tried to push the feeling down, but it was impossible with her green eyes set on him. "What did your parents say when you came back with Thor?"

If anyone else had asked him about this he would have snapped at them, but with Aspen it was rather more like chatting with an old friend. This surprised him, but he found he didn't mind. "They weren't pleased," he said. "My father sentenced me to life in prison. He forbade me from ever seeing my mother again. No one has come to see me in the time I've been down there, but they have no reason to want to see me."

"They're still your family. Family is supposed to forgive."

"I guess I'm past redemption."

"I don't think so."

"Why?" he asked her. "Why are you so determined to see the good in me after all I've done to you and your world?"

"Because it's there," she said with a small smile. "You're helping me. Isn't that proof?"

"It doesn't erase the bad I've done."

"Redemption isn't about erasing the bad things we've done, it's about learning from our mistakes and trying to do better."

"What if I don't want to change?"

"I don't expect you to change," Aspen told him. "There's nothing wrong with who you are. You just need to quit trying to take over thrones." She said it so seriously that he almost laughed.

"Is that all?"

"Well, you could send an apology letter to the Avengers and offer to pay for the damage you did to New York."

He chuckled. "I'm not sure they'd accept my apology nor am I willing to offer it."

"It was worth a try," she said with a shrug. She coughed again and this time it didn't end. She kept coughing until she was doubled over. A fleck of blood splattered onto her hand. Loki felt panicked. Was she dying now?

"Aspen?" He felt helpless as he watched her cough. Finally she stopped, looking exhausted.

"I'm okay," she said weakly. "Just burning up in these clothes." She swayed on her feet, and Loki caught her, at her side in a moment. Her eyes shut, and he realized she'd lost consciousness. He pulled her into his arms and walked over to his bed, setting her down. He tugged the guard's uniform off, leaving her in her Midgardian clothes. She was breathing easier now, and he sat by her side, terrified that her sickness was progressing so quickly.

After a moment, she opened her eyes. "Did I just faint in your arms?" she asked softly.

"Don't worry, I caught you," he said with a smirk.

She shook her head. "I've fallen so far."

"Who did this to you?" he asked softly. He wanted to rip his head off.

"Someone evil who's trying to take over the world. He found your demonstration inspiring," she told him.

He was silent for a moment, contemplating her words. "I didn't mean for other people to pick up where I left off," he said finally. "I never meant for you to get hurt."

"Yeah, well, sometimes it can't be helped. I just really don't want to die. Not after everything I've been through."

"You aren't going to die. We'll get into the vault and be out before the sun rises," he promised her.

"Can I just rest a few minutes?" she asked. His concern grew. The Aspen he knew never needed to rest when so much was at stake.

"Of course," he told her. "Do you need anything?"

She shook her head. "Can you just stay here?" she asked. "I don't want to be alone."

He nodded, pushing away the impulse to take her hand. "I'm not going anywhere," he assured her.

"I'm scared," she admitted so softly he could hardly hear her. He forgot all pretenses and took her hand anyway.

"I know," he said. "But you're not dying any time soon."

…

When Aspen woke up, she was unsure of her surroundings. A dim afternoon light was coming in through the tall windows, and she didn't recognize the scene outside. Then everything came crashing back to her and she remembered that she was in Asgard. In Loki's room to be more precise. She sat up quickly and looked around.

"You're awake." Loki was standing across the room from her pouring a goblet of wine. He walked over to her and held it out. "Drink this."

She took the goblet and sipped at the crimson liquid. "How long was I out?" she asked.

"All night and morning." His tone was indifferent, but his eyes told a different story.

"I don't think I have a week," she said finally, setting the goblet down on the table next to the bed.

"No, I don't think so either," he replied. "That's why we need to do this tonight."

"You have a plan."

"Yes. Are you feeling strong enough?" he asked.

She nodded. "Strong enough." She rose, and the dull ache in her head increased. She forced herself to focus on Loki's words though as he spoke.

"This is what we're going to do," he said. "Right now most of the guards are off fighting for justice or whatever it is you Avengers do. Thor is leading them, and he means to bring peace to the nine realms." He said it scathingly, but the pure hatred he'd shown in New York was gone. "There will be less guards on duty. Tonight they will switch around places, and that's when we'll come in, disguised as guards."

"Won't they notice if there are two extra guards?"

"Leave that to me."

"You're not going to kill them, are you?" she asked at the mischievous glow in his eyes.

"Kill an Asgardian guard? That would be treason." Aspen rolled her eyes. "I'm going to cause a distraction. You will stay behind to guard the vault and the others will come running to subdue whatever havoc I decided to wreak."

"This sounds like New York all over again."

"Relax, I don't have any Chitauri this time. I can glamour both of us so you can do away with that oversized guard uniform. You'll need to be fast and agile if you want to get in, grab the Eye, and get out again."

"Are the guards the only security measures for Odin's treasure chamber?" Aspen asked with a frown.

"No. An alarm will sound if you take anything out without authorization. Or unless you're Odin yourself."

"So how do we get the Eye then?" she asked impatiently.

"We don't. Odin does."

"Yeah, I'll just walk right up and ask if I can borrow it, shall I?" She did a double take when an older man appeared before her, a patch over one eye.

"I did mention I can shape shift, didn't I?" he asked.

"How do you do that?" Aspen asked. "Do you think I could?"

"With your newfound abilities?" he asked, shifting back to himself. "I'm not sure, but we don't have time to mess with that. Something tells me, the more you use them, the worse you get."

"I won't use them then. Once I have the Eye, is there a way to glamour it to make it appear it's still there?"

"Yes. It won't last forever, but it will give you a head start. What are you planning on doing once you deliver the Eye into enemy hands?"

"I hadn't gotten that far. Once I'm healed, I can start planning that out."

"You think he's going to just let you go when you hand it over? Are you really still that naïve? Did I teach you nothing?" he asked. Aspen shifted uncomfortably. "You trust too easily, Aspen," Loki told her. "He isn't going to just let you go. He's going to kill you and your soldier and your parents once you all live out your usefulness to him. You're a danger to him. He has no reason to keep you alive."

"Then what do I do? I can't not go back. Is there a way to give him a fake Warlock's Eye?"

"We don't have time to forge one, and my illusions can't travel across worlds like that."

Aspen fought back her despair. "I'll have to figure it out when I get back."

"Don't underestimate the Eye's power. It will ensnare you too."

"Underestimate an ancient relic guarded by Odin himself? Not likely."

"Aren't you immune to mind control though?" Loki asked narrowing his eyes. "On the Helicarrier when I tried to use the staff on you."

"I hadn't forgotten."

"It didn't work."

"My parents injected me with an Immunity Serum that would make me insusceptible to mind control. Would it work with the Eye?"

"If it worked against the Tesseract's power, then yes, I believe so."

"I think they used some of the Tesseract's power to create it – the serum that is."

"That would make sense."

"He'll know I've been injected with it though."

"All the more reason to kill you. I'm not sure your soldier will be immune."

The thought terrified Aspen. "He could turn Steve against me?"

"It's possible."

"Why do people do this?" Aspen asked. "Crave power like that?"

Loki was thoughtful for a moment. "The world doesn't always accept us for who we are," he finally said. "Sometimes we need to take it for ourselves. Sometimes that's the only way to be anyone."

"I still don't get it."

"That's because you're selfless. You don't crave power. It's what makes you so human and yet so inhuman."

"Thanks. I think..."

"There is one way that you can turn this in your favor," Loki told her.

"What's that?"

"Take the Warlock's Eye for yourself. Use its power. Then everyone will obey you."

"I don't want that power."

"Even to defeat your enemies?"

Aspen struggled for a moment. She hadn't thought to use the Eye herself, to force Stewart to cure her and set them free. "But wait, he injected himself with the Immunity Serum too," she suddenly realized, voicing this aloud. "He'll be immune too."

"But everyone else won't."

"Who knows what he'll do. He's building an army."

"An army he wants to control. He'll be the only one with the ability to overcome mind control, trust me. Once you've taken care of him, send the Eye back through the portal if you don't want its power. I'm sure Odin would be glad to have it back."

Aspen nodded slowly. "It might just work," she said. "Let's get started."


	17. The Warlock's Eye

**15 – The Warlock's Eye – May 16, 2012**

Loki disguised both of them as guards using his handy glamor. It was an odd sensation looking down at herself and seeing a burly guard wearing heavy armor but feeling just like herself. With her heightened senses, she was aware of every approaching person and tensed every time they passed someone, but no one seemed to suspect anything. She hadn't realized she'd been showing her nerves so much until Loki chuckled next to her.

"What?" she asked, glaring at him.

"You look like a frightened child the way you're jumping around like that. You're going to get us caught." Aspen bit back a retort.

"Of course I'm frightened, just look at what we're about to do."

"Have you forgotten the time you fought me, took my scepter and then called me a child and threw it on the ground?"

Aspen flushed. "That was different."

"You're not going to lose your nerve, are you?"

"Of course not."

"Good because you're on your own for awhile. I'm going to go cause the distraction. You keep heading toward the treasure chamber. Report for duty. I'll join you as soon as I can. Don't wait for me though. We'll have limited time. Make sure you're the only guard that stays."

"Is that likely?" Aspen asked. "What if another guard offers to stay behind?"

"Then get rid of him."

"Kill him? Why is killing always your solution?" Aspen hissed at him.

Loki rolled his eyes. "You can always knock him out," he said. "Just don't get caught."

"Easy for you to say. You're the one with the magic."

Loki lifted an eyebrow. "And you're the one with the highly developed brain."

"Which is slowly killing me." A flicker of pain passed over his eyes, and Aspen knew she hadn't mistaken it this time. "Don't get caught either," she said as they reached the end of the hall and went in opposite directions.

"Don't worry. I never make the same mistake twice." Then he was gone, and Aspen was alone. For a moment she wished that he could have stayed with her or that Steve or Clint was there. She realized how much she'd come to depend on them, especially Steve. She used to work alone. Heck, she hadn't even wanted to work with Clint at first because she worked better alone, but she realized now that she worked better with someone. It was nice to know that if something went wrong, there would be someone there to help.

She stopped short when she came to the hallway that led to Odin's treasure chamber. She could see the huge doors up ahead and the guards standing sentinel. She wasn't sure when exactly the guards were going to be replaced but, as she looked on, several more guards appeared for duty. She strode forward before she had the chance to second-guess herself and joined them. As the first guards began to move away, an alarm went off from somewhere below their feet.

"The prisoners!" one of the guards said. Most of them moved off at once. Two hovered by the doors to the treasure chamber.

"Go, I'll guard," Aspen said in a low voice.

"I'll stay with you. They might try to make for the vault," one guard said while the other headed toward the dungeons.

Aspen bit back her frustration. The man was only trying to do his job after all. She tried to figure out how to get him to leave. "I'll be fine here. They might need your help," she tried again. The guard glanced at her.

"It is my duty to guard Odin's treasure chamber," he said. "Two guards at minimum must keep watch before the doors to his vault. You know that."

Shouting could now be heard from down below. Aspen knew she was wasting precious time. "You seem nervous," the other guard said. He was now glancing at her suspiciously and warning bells went off in her head. He was onto her. She could see the accusation in his eyes without her mental abilities telling her of his change in mood.

"I'm new," she said weakly.

"New guards do not stand watch over the royal vault. Who are you?" He lifted his spear and pointed it at her.

"I really wish it hadn't come to this." Aspen swung her arm up to grab the spear while pivoting, forcing the guard's arm at an awkward angle until he released the spear. Then she thrust him against the wall and knocked him over the head. He slumped to the floor. She allowed herself a second to gawk at what she had just done. "Sorry," she told him. There was nowhere to drag the body, but she knew it was dangerous leaving him out in the open – practically a flashing sign that said 'someone is breaking into the vault, quick, stop them!' but she wasn't seeing any other options. Instead she turned to the doors of the treasure chamber. They were locked of course, but Loki had managed to snag a key. Aspen now inserted that, leaping back as the doors mechanically clicked open. She entered the room, walking down a long flight of steps and to a walkway made from a golden sort of stone. The doors rumbled shut behind her, and she felt suddenly trapped. She saw that on both sides of the walls there were alcoves cut into the stone where a different object rested. The first was a golden gauntlet with a white glowing light in the back and knuckles. Her mind analyzed the gauntlet, and she found that she understood what it was. The Infinity Gauntlet gave its wearer infinite power over reality through the use of the infinity stones that lay embedded in the metal although right now there were none in it. What Peter Stewart wouldn't give to have that.

On the other side rested a huge hunk of stone that looked like some sort of ancient tablet. She found she could read the markings on it though she'd never seen that ancient text before. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized what it was. The writing was actually a formula that would give a person superior abilities. It was very similar to the Superhero Serum. She kept walking. A glowing orb that reminded her of Tony Stark's reactor only a few times bigger in a stand on her left. It pulsed a little as she neared it. She realized that it could tell that magic was being used. Loki's illusion still disguised her, and the orb seemed to know this. Across from it was goblet of fire. It didn't seem all that extraordinary at first sight, but she realized that it was no ordinary fire. The flames never went out but burned on eternally. If nothing could put it out, she could see how dangerous it could be in the wrong hands.

Up ahead a grated door shed light onto a blue glowing box. Aspen felt drawn to it. She wondered what it was trapped inside of it and why it was on a pedestal at the end of the room rather than hidden away in an alcove. Before her mind could analyze it, she stopped. Something to her right pulled her even more. It was a familiar sort of sensation, and she knew what it was before she'd turned around.

The Tesseract lay glowing on a pedestal to her right. The cosmic cube seemed to swirl with power, but she knew better than to reach out and touch it. She thought of all the destruction it had caused – all the destruction_ Loki_ had caused with it. Her mind could analyze the bits of unknown element in it now in a way that her equipment never could. She found she didn't want that knowledge. She turned away, her eyes settling on the last alcove and the last object.

The eye was glowing and white, framed by a lid of gold. It was huge. She'd been expecting a small trinket, but this was big enough to cradle with both arms. It looked heavy too. Her mind calculated the weight. She turned to look at the doors, aware for the first time that Loki should have been there already. She couldn't hear the alarm from within the chamber, so she had no idea what was going on. The thick walls blocked out all other noises.

She turned back to the casket at the back of the room, walking forward without really realizing what she was doing. It was filled with magic; she could see that now, and the frosty air that resonated off of it sent goose bumps up her arms. Somehow she knew that touching it could kill her, but she got closer, her eyes drawn to the swirling magic within.

"I wouldn't touch that if I were you."

She nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of Loki's voice. The demi-god stood a few paces behind her. Now he strode forward and placed himself between Aspen and the casket. "The Casket of Ancient Winters can only be handled by Frost Giants," he told her.

"Can you touch it?" she asked curiously. She'd seen him transform a few times though not completely. It gave her chills thinking about the red that crept into his eyes and the bluish skin that replaced his normally pale skin.

Loki stiffened, but gave her a curt nod. "We don't have time for this," he said. "The guards are working on finding the escaped prisoners, but they'll realize something is wrong in here soon. The unconscious guard you left outside the doors was a dead giveaway."

"I didn't know where to put him," Aspen said sheepishly.

"Well I dragged him in here. It's better than the corridor." He took Aspen's arm and pulled her over to the Eye. "Now once you have this, you'll have a limited amount of time to get out of Asgard. You need to find the same portal you came in through. Can you remember where it was?" Aspen nodded. "The All-Father will realize the Eye is gone. I'd give you five minutes before he comes looking for it."

"I thought you said you could replace it with an illusion."

"An illusion that he can see through."

"I'll get out before he knows."

Loki's next words surprised her though they shouldn't have. "I'm coming with you."

"Wait, what? To Earth? I don't think that's such a good idea."

"You need me, and I'm going straight back to the dungeons if I stay here," he told her, crossing his arms and standing right in front of the Eye. "I helped you after all."

"You're clever enough to figure out how to stay out of the dungeons," Aspen told you. "I am_ not_ taking you back with me. Remember what happened last time you were on Earth? Death and destruction ringing any bells?"

"You think that I would destroy your world after you helped me escape the dungeons?" he asked, blue eyes cold.

"Why should your actions change?" she asked. "You keep telling me not to trust you. Well, this is me using my better judgment. What would you even do on Earth? Start a 'bad guys anonymous' group?"

"Without the Tesseract, I have nothing."

"That's not true," Aspen argued. "You have your powers. And the Tesseract is right there. What's stopping you from taking it?"

"Self-discipline. You." That surprised her. She studied him for a moment.

"Fighting you before didn't go well for me," she told him flatly.

He looked almost ashamed for a moment. "I'm not going to take it," he told her. "Making off with one of Odin's treasures is a feat in and of itself. Taking two would just be impractical."

"Fine. But you still can't come back to New York with me." She tried to move around him, but he grabbed her shoulders.

"I never said I wanted to go back to New York," he said.

"The answer is still no. What would happen if the Avengers found out I just let you back into the world you almost destroyed? I'd be kicked out of SHIELD and probably shunned for the rest of my life. We'd have to runaway to some foreign country and live like outlaws."

"I'm not asking for your permission," Loki told her, a familiar glint in his eyes. "Do you really think you could stop me?"

Aspen considered for a moment. "Maybe. But I don't want to fight you, Loki. Didn't we fight enough before?" she asked wearily. She slumped under his grip.

Loki's hostile expression faded as quickly as it had appeared. "Let's just focus on getting the Eye before Odin's guards come swarming." He let go of her shoulders and turned, suddenly appearing as Odin again. He grasped the Eye and pulled it from its pedestal. An illusion appeared in its place that looked quite convincing. "Time to go," he said. Aspen followed as he led her back down the hall and up the stairs. She took one last look at the Tesseract as they passed, and it glinted at her as if reminding her of the power it held.

Loki hesitated at the unconscious guard. "I should kill him. He'll raise the alarm when he wakes up."

"You're not going to kill him," Aspen said, placing herself between Loki and the guard.

"Why not?"

"Because he's a person!" Aspen said exasperatedly. "He probably has a family."

Loki sighed. "If he ruins this plan, I'm blaming you."

Aspen rolled her eyes. "Fine. Just don't kill him."

"You take the fun out of everything," Loki told her. Aspen glared at him. "Oh, alright." He left the unconscious guard.

The corridors were empty still, and Loki led her down a complicated sequence of corridors until they reached an outside door. The night was bright under the moonlight, and Aspen found that it hurt her eyes as she looked up at it.

Loki had disguised himself as a guard again, giving illusion to the Eye so that it appeared to be a bundle of swords. They could hear a commotion somewhere behind them. "Keep walking," Loki told her. "Don't act suspicious."

"I'm walking next to Asgard's most wanted criminal – whom I let out – after just having stolen something from Odin's treasure chamber. How do you suggest I _not_ act suspicious?"

Loki chuckled. "Always so tense," he told her. "And defensive. No wonder you and the soldier get along."

Aspen took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. Truth be told the pain in her head was pounding so heavily that she could hardly concentrate on walking. It was like every new ability and bit of information was throbbing in her brain. She wanted to shut it off. She stumbled, and Loki glanced back at her with a frown.

"Are you in pain?" he asked. Aspen wanted to deny it, but it must have been written on her face because his frown deepened. "I _will_ make him pay," he said, his tone dangerous. For a moment Aspen was tempted to let him come back. She had a feeling _he_ wouldn't be so easily overcome by Stewart. Then a thought crossed her mind.

"If you come back with me, what's to stop you from using the Eye?" Aspen asked.

A pained look crossed Loki's face. "I have no reason to use it, and I would never use it against you. I have a feeling you'd find a way of keeping me in line." She must not have looked convinced because he continued on. "Right now you're the only good thing I have, so I'm not going to put our…friendship…at jeopardy."

"How do I know you're not trying to manipulate me?" Aspen asked with narrowed eyes.

"Is it so hard to believe that I just want to be friends?" Loki asked. "Everyone else either hates me or wants me dead. Besides, we shook on it."

"I'm envisioning this conversation with Fury. 'Oh, Loki and I shook on it. I had no idea he'd come back and try to take over the world again because I thought our friendship was strong enough to overcome his power-hungry tendencies.' Yeah. I'd get fired. And possibly publicly flogged."

Loki wasn't amused, but they had reached the base of the statue where Aspen had come out of the portal and didn't get a chance to respond.

"Here we are," Aspen said, looking up at that statue. It looked much taller now that she had to climb back up it. Her whole body was aching in a way that would make it difficult to climb.

"Something tells me our plan isn't going as smoothly as we'd hoped," Loki said from behind her.

"What makes you say that?" Aspen asked.

"Turn around."

Aspen turned and saw a row of guards running straight toward them. "There!" one of them shouted, and Aspen recognized the guard she had knocked unconscious.

"Told you," Loki said. Aspen sent him a glare.

"Not helpful. Get the Eye up there. I'll hold them off."

Loki lifted an eyebrow. "You think I'm just going to leave you down here alone? What kind of friend would do that?" He shoved the Eye into Aspen's arms. "Tie that in your cloak and start climbing. _I'll_ hold them off." Before Aspen had a chance to argue, Loki ran forward to meet the guards, managing to acquire a staff. Aspen quickly tied the Eye into her cloak, slinging it around her shoulder. It weighed her down as she began her climb, and she could feel her energy waning. Her mind told her that she was quickly losing strength, but she kept climbing. Finally she reached the top, hefting the Eye up over the top of the statue's base. She looked back down.

Loki was still fighting, and a number of unconscious guards lay strewn around him, but he was still outnumbered. It crossed her mind that she could just leave him, but as soon as she thought it, she pushed the thought from her head and began her descent again. When she landed next to Loki, he looked at her for a moment, surprised.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Helping you," she said, taking a staff from an unconscious guard and standing at Loki's side as the remaining guards closed in. "That's what friends do, right?" She struck out as one of the guards attacked, meeting his own staff with a clang. Her energy flagged, but she fought on, struck by the irony of the situation as Loki fought by her side. She found that her mind would predict the moves of each guard making fighting much easier. They had just brought down the last guard when a fresh wave appeared on the other end of the bridge. She was feeling so weak by now, and a trickle of something warm ran down her lip. She wiped away blood. It smeared across the back of her hand, and Loki glanced down at it, frowning.

"You can't keep this up," he said. "You won't be able to climb to the top again."

"Maybe there's another solution." Aspen focused on the guards. She was so close to making it back, so close to saving Steve. If she were to be captured then she'd never make it back. He would die waiting for her, and she would die unable to save him. The anger built up until finally she let out a scream just before the guards reached them. A sort of energy pulsed out from her, sending the guards flying backwards. Several toppled off the bridge and landed in the water. The rest fell unconscious to the ground. She fell to her knees.

Loki stared around them, wide-eyed. "How did you do that?" he asked. Then he noticed her face. "Your nose is bleeding." She could feel the blood running down her face, but didn't have the energy to wipe it away. "We need to get you out of here." The next thing she knew, Loki had pulled Aspen into his arms and started climbing, gripping her to him with one hand and gripping the stone with the other. She had no idea how he made it to the top. She was barely conscious.

"Almost there," Loki told her.

"Loki!" a clear voice rang out down below, and Aspen peered over the edge to see a familiar face looking up at them. She'd never seen him in person, only through Loki's illusions, but there was no mistaking Odin. "Loki, come down from there. Your tricks will not free you from your judgment."

"Get through the portal," Loki told Aspen, setting her down. Aspen crawled forward, but Odin's voice stopped her.

"Come down Loki, or I shall force you down."

"You cannot force me to do anything," Loki spat.

"You've stolen something of mine, and I want it back," Odin said. "I do not wish to harm you. I am offering you a chance to return it."

"And then what? Life in the dungeons? No sunlight, no freedom?"

"You chose that life, Loki, when you invaded Midgard and killed hundreds of humans."

"And yet you raised me to believe that I would one day rule," Loki returned spitefully.

"You are not fit to rule. You proved that through your actions."

Loki took a step toward the portal. Aspen saw Odin bring up his staff and a blue light shot forward, hitting the base of the statue. The stone around them began to crumble and Aspen barely managed to grab on before the stone below her feet fell. Loki hardly managed to find a hold. He pulled himself back up, stumbling as part of the statue gave way underfoot. He fell against her, and she steadied him, hands on his shoulders. He looked down at her, blue eyes keen and for a moment she was back in her apartment before he had betrayed her, the night that he had kissed her. The mixed emotions she felt confused her. She felt a stab of guilt when she realized in that moment that she was thinking about their kiss but with him standing so close, she couldn't help but think of it.

"Get through the portal," he told Aspen. "Get the Eye and go."

"What about you?" she asked, pushing aside her thoughts.

"I'll be fine." He smiled at her. "You know me." He turned away from her, and she watched as he turned to face Odin. Then the portal tugged at her, and she lost her footing, falling backwards. Loki disappeared from sight, and everything swirled all around her until she was sick and dizzy. Just before she reached the other end, she lost consciousness and everything around her turned to black.


	18. Super-Adaptoid

**Author's Note: 7/4/14 **Happy Steve Day! I'm wearing my CA shield necklace today and even managed to scrounge up some red, white, and blue. Also I keep getting that damn star-spangled man with a plan stuck in my head. Not cool.

Thank you for favorites and follows! I really appreciate it! Feel free to leave a review. Also, if you've never seen Tom Hiddleston doing impressions of Chris Evans, you need to. He is SO hilarious.

* * *

**16 – Super-Adaptoid – May 17, 2012**

"I need _more_!" a voice shouted from within the lab. Steve paused. Since Aspen had been sent through the portal two days before, he had been allowed some free reign around the research facility. This had surprised him, but Stewart seemed unconcerned. He knew Steve wouldn't try anything if it would put Aspen at risk. He also knew that Steve was aware of the tight rope he was walking. If he put a foot out of line Stewart wouldn't hesitate before killing him, and Steve was humble enough to acknowledge that he had the means to do so. Now as Steve reached the doors leading into Ava Tolvar's lab, he hesitated. It was Stewart's voice that he had heard he realized. He could see through the glass in the doors that he was confronting Ava. "This isn't enough for an army!" he shouted. Ava cowered, and Steve could tell that she was terrified. He tensed.

"I'm doing what I can," Ava returned. "I'm only one person though. If you'd let Gregor help me-"

"Keeping Gregor alive is part of your motivation to keep doing this."

"You've already taken my daughter."

"I don't trust your minds together. Give me the formula, and I'll have my workers duplicate the serum." Ava shook her head stubbornly. "You keep thinking you'll find another way to outsmart me, that your daughter will return and somehow you'll manage to heal her and take me down. That's not going to happen though. I am going to win. Now I won't ask you again. Give me the formula!"

When Ava didn't budge, Stewart sent his palm flying at her cheek and slapped her so hard that she fell to the floor. Steve was through the doors in a second, grabbing Stewart around the throat as the man reached down to drag Ava to her feet. Steve slammed him into the wall, blue eyes flashing.

"That's enough," he said. "Don't lay a finger on her."

Stewart struggled against him, and for a moment Steve saw a flicker of fear in his eyes. As he began to choke, Steve released him, letting Stewart slide to the floor. Stewart rubbed his neck while Steve went to help Ava up. Ava's cheek was flaming from Stewart's slap.

"Are you alright?" Steve asked, brow furrowed in concern.

"I'm fine. You shouldn't have done that though. You're going to get yourself into trouble," she said, using his arm for support.

"I wasn't going to stand there and let him hurt you," he told her.

Ava smiled and briefly reached up a hand to touch his cheek. "Thank you," she said. Steve, surprised by the gesture, simply shrugged.

"You're welcome."

Stewart had gotten to his feet, and Steve turned to face him. "You can have the formula if you're going to beat it out of her. I'm sick and tired of this game. I'll give it to you if you promise not to touch her again."

"Steve," Ava warned, but Steve shook his head, looking down at her.

"More people are going to get hurt," he told her. "Aspen would never forgive me if I let anything happen to you."

"A lot of people are going to get hurt if he gets his hands on that formula."

"We'll find a way to stop him," Steve said quietly. "But I can tell he's desperate enough to keep hurting you. Desperate enough to kill your husband. If we give him what he wants, he might back off and then we can start formulating a plan to get out of here."

Ava's eyes were wide with fear, but she nodded. Steve turned back to Stewart who had kept his distance. Steve could tell by his stance that he was readying himself for another attack.

"Here's the deal," Steve told him. "I give you a bit of the formula every day if you show me that you won't hurt Ava."

"I don't think you're in a position to bargain," Stewart said.

"Take it or leave it. I could always add to those bruises around your neck." Already his handprint had appeared on Stewart's neck. Stewart unconsciously put a hand to it. Threatening wasn't Steve's style, but he realized Stewart wasn't going to respond to anything less.

"And I could put a bullet in your head," he said.

"I can guarantee that you'll get no cooperation out of Aspen if you do that."

"Where's the formula?"

"I can write down some of it," Steve said. He grabbed a scratch piece of paper and wrote down part of the formula that he remembered reading in the notes. Ava watched him fearfully, and Steve hoped he knew what he was doing. He shoved the paper at Stewart who took it like it was a hot coal.

"I already know the basis of this," he said.

"Leave Ava alone and you'll learn more tomorrow," Steve said. "I keep my word."

"As do I," Stewart said. "I won't harm her if you give me the formula."

"And Aspen when she gets back."

"Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves," Stewart said. "Keep working." He took the paper and left the room. Steve heard Ava let out a breath.

"I'm sorry you got dragged into all this," she said softly. "And Aspen…"

Steve turned to her. "If we can do anything to help it will be worth it," he said. "Stewart will keep hurting people unless someone stops him."

"If anyone can stop him it's you and Aspen. You're a team. I can see that."

"Yeah, I guess we are." Steve contemplated the idea of them being a team and decided he liked it.

"We just have to pray she gets back in time," Ava said. "I can't lose her again."

"She'll make it," Steve said quietly. "She has to."

…

Aspen was aware of hands grabbing her and then being shoved roughly into a car. She was in and out of consciousness, her mind fogged up like a clogged chimney. She couldn't seem to get a single thought through her head. She heard voices but it was like they were speaking a different language. The high she'd felt ever since receiving the serum had slowed down. She no longer felt her mind racing, accessing data and skills she'd never had before. Now it was as if the serum was reversing, taking her mind backwards into oblivion. She found that it was welcome. The darkness she saw at the end of the tunnel was inviting her in where it was safe, where she wouldn't have to face the world again.

The darkness turned into white light at some point, and she was aware of a prick in her arm. The blackness grew bright spots until her vision began to return. Her ears were ringing, and she felt like she might throw up. Eventually the voice became clearer, and she could make out what they were saying.

"…stabilizing…vitals good…serum worked…"

Somewhere deep inside her mind it registered that she'd been injected with the pure serum that would heal what was wrong in her head and keep her from dying. It also meant she still had full access to her brain. She had begun to realize over the last few days that it wasn't something that just came to you. She might have access to her entire brain but she had no idea how to use that ability and therefore she was limited. She remembered the broken glass of the car window and tossing the Asgardian guards with her mind.

She was back in Iceland though. Back in Stewart's lab. Where was the Eye? That thought sent her mind racing. Stewart must have it. She'd blacked out right when she'd entered the portal. If he had the Eye then he had the power to control anyone including Steve.

Aspen opened her eyes a hair. She was in a medical room on a white clad bed. A needle was still in one arm and connected to a machine that was reading her vitals. Two pads rested on each temple, getting a reading from her brain. Two female nurses had their backs turned to her. A guard stood at the door. Aspen gathered her fear and her anger, harnessing her emotions into a ball of fury that she visualized in her mind. The screen began to beep as her brain signals went haywire. The nurses turned around and the guard aimed his gun at her. Aspen threw her fury out at them. The two nurses went crashing into the wall while the guard's gun flew straight out of his hand and into hers. His head hit the door, shattering the glass. Aspen ripped the needle from her arm and the pads from her temples. Holding the gun before her, she left the medical room. Two guards had come running at the commotion. Aspen held out both hands, sending the guards flying into the walls. She stood staring at what she had done for a moment, but she didn't have time to get used to her powers. She ran on, finding her way to the lab where her mother worked. There were no guards on duty outside which she found very odd. She approached the doors with caution, gun pointed ahead. She peered in through the door. The lab was empty.

She stiffened as she sensed a warm body temperature around the corner. She flattened herself to the wall and waited. The moment the guard walked around the corner, she jumped him, thrusting him into the wall and knocking the butt of her gun against his head where she knew it would knock him unconscious. She left his body and headed down the hall where he had come. She had a very bad feeling about all of this. She concentrated on listening and heard voices from somewhere deeper in the research facility. Aspen sped toward the sound on light feet checking each turn in the hall before continuing on. Every sense was alert and her brain registered in higher detail than before. There was no pain this time only clarity. She knew it had worked. It staggered her for a moment when she realized she had been injected with the Superhero Serum. She hadn't thought of it by its nickname in awhile but the absurdity of it all hit her. She almost started laughing but reined it in. She was no hero but maybe today she needed to try to be one.

She neared the voice she heard and realized that it was Stewart's voice. He seemed to be giving some sort of speech. She crept toward a set of doors that looked into a huge lab. What she saw inside made her gasp before she could help herself. Exactly two hundred guards stood in a straight line all dressed in grey and holding guns. The Eye sat on a stand in front of them, and Aspen could tell that their minds were under its control. She could feel its tug, but the Immunity Serum kept her from falling under its spell. Stewart seemed to be giving orders. She could hear his voice clearly, but only half paid attention to what he was saying as she searched for Steve and her mother. She finally saw Ava tied up and looking frightened behind Stewart. She craned her neck to see further into the room. She thought she saw someone beside her mother, but she couldn't tell if it was Steve. Fear jabbed through her. What if Stewart had killed him? He had everything he needed. He no longer had a reason to keep Steve alive. Why had he kept his word and healed her though? Her brain tuned into what Stewart was saying.

"…thanks to the help of our Super Soldier, we have the means to build the greatest army the world has ever seen. No one will stand against us once you are injected." Stewart fingered a phone that Aspen recognized as her own.

She watched in horror as Steve stepped up to Stewart's side. His eyes were blank, his posture relaxed as he stood next to their enemy. He wore the same grey as the other soldiers but held no gun. Aspen's heart was going wild and she felt her anger building up. Before she could stop it, her power surged out and cracked the glass of the doors. Ava and Stewart's eyes flew to the door. Steve and the soldiers didn't blink. She backed up, but it was to late.

"Why don't you come and join us Miss Tolvar?" Stewart asked. "I wondered how you might react when you saw that I've taken over your soldier's mind. The Eye is a powerful tool."

Aspen took a step forward, opening the door to the lab and stepping in. It felt much akin to stepping into a lion's den. She held the gun out before her, aiming it at Stewart's heart. The soldiers stared ahead with empty eyes. Stewart was smiling amiably. Ava whimpered from behind the gag that had been stuffed into her mouth. Aspen glanced over at her. She seemed otherwise unharmed. Finally she turned her head and looked at Steve, dreading what she would see in his eyes. The indifference in them broke her heart. "Steve?" she asked softly. He didn't blink. His blue eyes were so devoid of the emotion that was always present.

"He can't hear you. Not really. The Super Soldier Serum didn't stop the Eye from controlling his mind. As you can see Miss Tolvar, I have won. My army waits for my command. With the Super Soldier at their head, we can't lose. The Avengers won't stand a chance. Not when they're fighting him and all my soldiers."

"Why are you doing this?" Aspen asked. "Once you take over the world, what then?"

"Then no one steps on me again, no one tells me I'm weak. I spent my life living in the shadows of people like your parents. No more. This time I win."

"You're insane."

"You're just now getting that?" he asked, his eyes glinting. "The best leaders are a little insane."

"Yeah, like Hitler and Stalin? Great role models."

"And can you do better Miss Tolvar?"

"Me? I don't want to rule anything. I don't crave power."

"But you crave freedom and you can only gain that through power," he argued.

"Only when people like you try to take it away from me."

"We live in a world where someone is always trying to take away someone else's freedom, Miss Tolvar. That's not about to change."

"It might."

"You want to fight for your freedom? Fine. Let's see how the Superhero Serum works against the Super Soldier. Put the serums to the real test and see which ones comes out on top: your parents' or mine."

Dread filled Aspen. Steve had tensed, his eyes watching her intently as if she were his prey. "No," she said. "That's not going to happen."

"Do what you will. Fight or don't fight. Either way I want to see this." He turned to Steve. Aspen looked at her mother who met her eyes fearfully. Then she shook her head as if to say that Aspen didn't stand a chance. Aspen already knew that. She turned her eyes back to Steve with a gulp.

"Kill her," Stewart said to him. Aspen dropped the gun. She wasn't going to use that on Steve.

She backed up, but Steve took two great strides and had her cornered. Aspen darted under his arm as he tried to grab her by the throat. Instead he swung around and grabbed her wrist so quickly she could hardly register what was happening before the pain hit her. Her mind flared up telling her that he had just fractured her wrist. Aspen swallowed back the pain. Her brain seemed to accept that she didn't want to feel the pain and it faded. She had lost the use of her left arm though, and she was only two seconds into this fight. She backed away again. "Steve, don't do this," she told him. Her voice gave away her panic. "This isn't you. Fight this!"

She ducked as he swung straight at her and this time managed to predict his next moves and avoid further injury. She could keep ahead of him, but eventually she was going to tire or make a mistake. She focused her brain on fighting and found that she knew just what to do. She ducked his swing and kicked out, catching him behind the knee. He didn't budge. She swung up with her fist, but he blocked it with ease and countered. She could hardly ward him off as she defended herself. Once her defense slipped, and he sent her sprawling on the floor with a jolt that sent pain through her entire body. Her back would be bruised and her cheek was already blossoming with color. Steve reached down and lifted her by her collar. She flailed around, but he was too strong for her.

"Steve!" she screamed. "Fight it! You know me! You would never hurt me. Please!" Her voice had faded to a weak whisper. She thought she saw something like remembrance flicker behind his blue eyes. Then he threw her into the wall. She slid to the ground, pain radiating through her body.

"Give up yet?" Stewart asked. "Clearly your mind abilities are no match for the Super Soldier. Or maybe you're just weak."

Aspen glared at him. She focused her anger at Stewart and shoved her hand out in front of her. A wave of power hit Steve hard enough to knock him back a few paces. She didn't want to hurt him though. She couldn't.

"Is that all you've got?" Stewart asked. "You can do better than that."

As Steve approached again, Aspen shot out another wave of power. This time he hardly staggered. Aspen was feeling desperate. A thought flickered through her mind. She had no idea if it would work, but there was the smallest chance that it would. She lunged at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her lips to his before he could react. She felt him tense under her lips, but when he finally managed to push her off of him, she saw the light in his eyes. Their breath mingled. She tensed as he put his hands on her waist not knowing what to expect. "Aspen," he said so quietly that she knew she was the only one who had heard him.

Before either could say anything more, gunshots sounded outside the room. Steve's eyes flitted to the door behind Aspen.

"Kill her!" Stewart shouted at Steve. In one swift motion, Steve spun around and punched Stewart squarely in the jaw. Stewart went flying across the room where he crashed into the wall. Aspen expected him to stay there, but he got to his feet a moment later. "I see you broke his mind control. Impressive. Clearly you mean more to him than I realized. But you see, I'm still unbeatable. I've injected myself with both the Superhero Serum and the Adaptoid. I have his powers now only I'm stronger." He looked at the door as more gunfire rang out. "I guess we'll get a chance to see just how strong." He turned to his guards. "Go see what's happening," he told them. They nodded and left the lab. Aspen's senses were on alert. Whoever was shooting down Stewart's men might be looking for her and Steve.

Steve tensed as Stewart moved toward them. "Go free your mother," he told Aspen. "Then get out of here."

"I'm not leaving you," Aspen told him.

"You might not have a choice."

Aspen searched his eyes. "I'll stay with you to the last," she told him.

"To the end of the line," he murmured after a moment almost to himself, his eyes going distant. "Now go."

Aspen ran toward her mother as Steve faced Stewart. She quickly untied the gag and began to work on the bonds. "Aspen, he hasn't injected his army yet. You have to stop him."

"How?"

"The Eye is controlling them. We need to destroy it."

"How can we do that?" Aspen asked.

Her mother shook her head. "I'm not sure. I don't know anything about it."

"Then I'm not sure we can destroy it."

Her eyes flitted to Steve as she worked on her mother's bonds. Stewart loosened his tie before swinging at Steve. Steve ducked, kicking out and catching Stewart in the stomach. Stewart didn't seem to feel the impact. He staggered, regained his balance, and swung again. It was clear that he wasn't a fighter. He was using brute force but there was nothing refined about his movements. Steve quickly dodged and delivered a blow to the side of Stewart's head. Stewart swung out a hand and a power surge knocked Steve off his feet. Stewart smiled. "You see, I'm much better practiced than Miss Tolvar at using my powers. I've had years to train." He took a step toward Steve who got to his feet. Aspen saw a flicker of doubt in his eyes. Neither he nor she knew the extent to Stewart's powers.

Aspen finished untying Ava. "You need to get out of here."

Ava shook her head. "I can't leave you, Aspen."

"It's not safe. Let me handle this. I can't be worried about you too. Get out and get help."

Ava nodded. "I'll find your father."

"Good, go!"

"I love you, Aspen," her mom said pulling her into a tight hug. Aspen hugged her back.

"I love you too," she said. "This is going to all be over soon. Then we can be a family again. Here take this." She handed Ava the gun she had dropped.

Her mother took it and left. Aspen turned to face Stewart. She had to do something to help. Her mind began to calculate his strengths and his weaknesses but when he sent Steve flying into the wall hard enough to crack the plaster, Aspen's vision went red.

"Don't you _dare_ hurt him!" she shouted. The lights above them flickered and ceiling shook. Bits of plaster rained down on them. "You have hurt my family and friend. I'm not going to let you keep hurting the people I love."

"You just don't know when to give up, do you?" Stewart asked, turning to face her.

"I just don't give up," she replied. The gunfire was getting closer, and she could hear voices shouting. Stewart's eyes flashed to the door, and Aspen saw a hint of hesitation. "Sounds like help is here," she said. "I'll give you one chance to surrender."

"And then what?" he asked, turning his eyes back to her. "You'll kill me? See I don't think you have it in you to kill someone."

"I work for SHIELD. Are you so sure about that?"

"I can hear that waver in your voice. You might be an employee of SHIELD but you don't kill in their name."

"I never said I was going to kill you," she said.

The doors behind her burst open, and her eyes flitted to the door. While her attention was on the incoming group of people, Stewart lunged at her, tackling her to the ground. A gun went off, and Aspen felt hot blood soak into her shirt. Stewart rolled off of her, and she saw that his shoulder was bleeding. Then he was on his feet and sprinting toward the exit on the other side of the lab. He dodged bullets with agility that he had stolen from Steve, snatching the Eye and punching the doors straight off their hinges. Just before he vanished from sight something whizzed through the air and struck him straight in the left shoulder. He kept running though Aspen knew the arrow would have pierced straight through him. She turned to look at the archer, cocking an eyebrow.

"Well that took you long enough," she said as Clint walked into the room.


	19. Heroes and Villains

**17 – Heroes and Villains – May 17, 2012**

Clint strode up to her and reached out an arm. Aspen grabbed it and he hoisted her up. The next moment he was hugging her so tightly that her body ached where bruises had begun to form. "Ouch, you're hurting me," she said breathlessly. He let go of her.

"I didn't know if you were alive, Pen," he said, eyes shining with the emotion he usually kept so well guarded.

"Course I am," she said. "But you wouldn't believe what I've been through."

"I thought the deal was you keep her safe," Clint said rounding on Steve who had gotten to his feet again.

"It's not his fault. He did everything he could. It's a long story, but it's not his fault," Aspen told him, tugging on his arm.

Clint gave Steve a long stare and then nodded curtly. He turned back to Aspen. "That creep who jumped you. Who was he? He should have gone down with that arrow. It pierced his heart."

"Peter Stewart. He was my professor at Columbia and also head of this A.I.M. research facility. He injected himself with several serums to make himself stronger and more intelligent. That thing he took with him is called the Warlock's Eye. Basically it gives him the ability to control anyone."

"Then we need to eliminate him before he becomes more of a threat," Clint said.

"I'm immune to the Eye's power. I need to destroy it somehow or send it back to where it came from."

"And where is that?"

"Long story. Ask me later. Did SHIELD call to warn me that Stewart's men were after me when I was in Portland?" she asked, her mind flitting back to the woman on the phone.

Clint frowned. "No. Not that I was aware of. Not many people knew you were leaving. In fact besides Fury and me, I don't think anyone knew."

Aspen frowned. "Then who warned us?"

"That was me," a voice said from the hall. Clint turned around, and Aspen gasped as she caught sight of the woman who spoke. "Sorry for the pretense, but I knew there was something suspicious going on. Fury pulled me out of retirement to keep an eye on you. He thought someone else might come looking for your parents' work."

The grey-haired woman smiled at Aspen's surprised expression.

"Who is she?" Clint asked.

"Her name is Ann," Aspen said. "She was in my astrophysics class. The one Stewart taught. Seems everyone has a double identity."

"My real name is Hannah Fengard."

Aspen's brain tried to register her words. Fengard. Her aunt's last name, her mom's maiden name. "Are you saying…?"

"I'm your grandmother," Hannah said with a small smile. "But I'm afraid not a very good one."

"I don't even know what to say." Aspen's mind was whirling. She'd just found her mom again and now she had a grandma too? She'd never met her mom's parents before. Ava never talked about them, and she'd been too young to ask.

The building shook a moment later, and Clint cleared his throat. "I hate to break up this little reunion but it sounds like this building is going to blow. They're probably trying to cover up their tracks."

"We need to find Stewart. He might still be alive," Aspen said.

"He won't have made it far, super powers or not," Clint said. "Come on."

The building gave another tremor. "Wait, I don't know where my mom is," Aspen said. "She went looking for my father."

"You can't go back in there," Clint told her as the next round of explosions sounded behind them. "We need to get out. If she's anything like you she'll find a way out."

Aspen hesitated, but Hannah spoke up. "There was no one in the lower area. We searched that. She'll have headed for higher ground." Aspen nodded.

"Then let's go find Stewart," she said. She felt Steve come up behind her.

"Aspen, I'm so sorry," he said. His eyes skimmed over her bruises. "I can't believe I did that."

"_You_ didn't. It wasn't your fault," she said. "We'll talk about it later." He nodded, blue eyes sad.

"Stewart has a lot to pay for," he said.

"Then let's make him pay." Clint clenched his bow. "Come on." They headed toward the doors Stewart had ripped off the wall. The SHIELD agents fanned out behind them. "Do we need to worry about them?" Clint asked, nodding to the soldiers who stood motionless.

"They're under control of the Eye. I don't think we can do anything. We need to get that Eye. Then I can set them free."

"I'm not sure we're going to have time for that," Clint told her.

"We're going to just let them die?" Aspen asked, horrified by the thought.

"You want to try moving all of them? Come on, maybe we can still save them." Aspen let Clint pull her from the room. The SHIELD agents followed their lead. "Fan out. Find this Stewart character. Don't underestimate him."

"Wait!" a voice called out from the end of the corridor. Ava was running toward them, a small case in hand. "I have an Immunity Injection that will prevent the Eye from controlling your mind." She opened the case and pulled out a needle. "If someone will help."

Hannah stepped up. Ava's eyes widened when she saw the older woman. "Now isn't the time," Hannah said. "When this is over we'll have a proper reunion."

Ava nodded mutely handing Hannah a needle. Aspen grabbed one too and they set to work injecting the SHIELD agents. She noticed a man helping Ava. There was something familiar about him, but he had his back turned to her so she turned to inject someone else.

"This would have been helpful before New York," Clint told her.

"I know, I'm sorry," she said, injecting him with the serum. She turned to Steve. His eyes brushed her bruises again. She knew he would hate himself for a long time over this even though it wasn't his fault. "I'm sorry this happened to you," she said, injecting him with the serum.

"Ready? Fan out. Check the perimeter. If you find Stewart, take him down. He's a threat," Clint ordered.

Aspen, Steve, and Clint moved forward. Ava and Hannah followed. They traveled the corridors, getting a view out of the windows every once in awhile at the exploding buildings behind them. Aspen realized the research lab where her mother had been working was destroyed now. She shut her eyes for a moment and tried to locate Stewart. When that didn't work she focused on the energy radiating from the Eye. She felt the surge of power, but it wasn't close. She realized that it wasn't in the building at all.

"He's left," she said. "He's not here anymore and neither is the Eye."

"Where is he?" Clint asked.

"I think I know." Aspen raced ahead, leading them out the doors and into a parking lot. A trail of blood led to where a car had been parked. "We need to hurry," she said. She got into the driver's side of a black sedan. Clint got in next to her and Steve got in the back.

"I'll take another car," Ava said. She motioned to Hannah and the man Aspen had seen earlier who had followed them. Aspen did a double take as the man got in the car. She pushed the recognition away. Now was not the time for a family reunion, but she was pretty sure that was her father, a little older, a few more grey hairs, but the same familiar face. She put the car in reverse and pulled out of the parking spot. Then she threw it into drive and tore out of the parking lot.

"That was my dad," she said once she pulled out onto the road. She could see that most of the research facility was up in flames now. Another explosion rocked the ground sending a spray of rubble at the car. Ava pulled onto the road behind them. "The man who got into their car."

"And that woman who gave out the Immunity Serum was your mom, right?" Clint said.

"Yeah."

"You have her hair and eyes."

"It's a lot to take in," she said. "How can I just let them in when it's been so long?" She realized she'd been dying to discuss this with Clint ever since she'd found her mom.

"I don't know, Pen. You let them in when you're ready," he replied. "Where are we going?"

"To the portal."

"The what?"

"The Eye came from Asgard, Clint. From Odin's treasure room. There's a portal that Stewart's men found that leads into Asgard. He means to go through it to escape us."

"How do you know all this? I mean, how did you know he'd go there?" Clint asked.

"Because I was injected with the Superhero Serum. I was injected with my parents' work. I can sense the Eye's power. I can also sense that the portal isn't going to stay open for much longer."

"Who injected you? Your parents?" Clint asked, tightening his grip on his bow which he'd folded down to fit in the car.

"No. Stewart. He wanted to make sure my mom hadn't tainted the serum she'd made for him which she had. I nearly died." She heard the bow creak under Clint's grip. "I'm alright now. I was injected with a finished serum."

"That still doesn't make any of this right."

"I know. This ends here. No more serums, no more research. No one else is going to get hurt over this." She turned right and followed the path she had taken with Stewart two days before. She saw his car up ahead, the driver's door wide open. A trail of blood led down the hill. She screeched to a halt and shut off the engine. Clint and Steve joined her as she started downhill not waiting for the others to arrive. Clint flicked his bow into action.

As the water came into view, Aspen could see the portal very clearly. It was glowing blue and spitting out energy like it was about to implode. She did a quick reading on the energy. "It's going to close in two minutes," she said. "Look."

Stewart had emerged from the water on the other side of the pond. He was holding the Eye under one arm. He'd broken off the shaft of the arrow, but the tip was still deeply imbedded in his back. "That guy's got determination, I'll give him that," Clint said.

"He's got Steve's powers," Aspen told him.

"Unless you want another arrow in your back, stop there!" Clint shouted. Stewart stopped and turned around. Clint aimed an arrow at his heart. Aspen could see that blood had soaked through the front of his shirt.

"It's over, Stewart," Aspen said. "You didn't win. See, it's not always about winning. Sometimes it's just about coming out alive in the end. Keep trying to win and you're going to lose."

Stewart chuckled, his eyes glinting madly. "I've already won though. I'm the most powerful man alive." He looked past Aspen, and she saw that her mother, father, and grandmother had joined them. "Ah, the whole Tolvar family is here. How special."

Aspen's father threw her a nervous smile. "Hello, Aspen," he said.

"Dad." The word felt foreign on her tongue.

"The famous Ava and Gregor Tolvar, united at last with their daughter. What a momentous occasion. I'm so glad I got to see this before you die." Aspen heard a click. The next moment was a blur as Stewart pulled a gun from his pocket and aimed it straight at her heart. He fired. One of Clint's arrows hit Stewart straight in the chest a second later before the bullet hardly had a chance to leave the chamber. Steve shouted her name and someone flung himself in front of her.

When the chaos had passed, Aspen looked down to see who had taken the bullet for her. Her father lay on the ground, a bullet wound in his chest. Aspen felt the world go hazy around her and red blinded her as her vision blurred. She heard her mother screaming then saw her raise the gun Aspen had given her. She aimed it at Stewart and shot. Once. Twice. Stewart stumbled backward toward the portal. With Ava's third shot, he fell backwards into the blue light, Warlock's Eye still clutched in his hand. The portal fizzed and then imploded in a burst of blue light. When it had vanished they were left alone. Stewart was gone.

"Gregor?" Ava knelt next to her husband, ripping off her sweater and pressing it to the wound. "No, don't leave me. Don't do this."

Aspen stood motionless her mind blank. She couldn't think, couldn't feel. This couldn't be happening. Not when she'd finally found her family. Her father looked up at her, and she could see the pain and the sorrow in his eyes. "Aspen," he said.

Aspen knelt down next to him. He reached out and took her hand. "I'm so sorry for everything we've put you through. We loved you, but we didn't do what was best for you. We thought we did, but I can see that we made some mistakes. I can also see that you've made the best of what you've been given and turned into an incredible, brave, righteous young woman. I'm so proud of you."

"Daddy, don't leave me," Aspen whispered. Gregor's eyes lit up at the use of the name.

"I'll never leave you, Aspen. I never have." He was struggling to breathe now. A tear dripped down Aspen's nose, and she let it fall, mingling with the blood on her father's shirt. "I love you, Aspen," he told her, voice weak.

"I love you too, Dad," Apsen said. "I forgive you. Just don't leave me."

"Keep fighting for what you believe in, Aspen. Never stop fighting. If anyone can make the world a better place, it's you." He took a long breath, his eyes fluttering shut, and then slowly stopped breathing. Aspen felt his hand go limp in hers. Ava was sobbing, holding onto her Gregor's other hand. Everyone else looked on, their faces holding expressions of shock.

Finally Aspen tucked her father's hand over his chest and stood. She felt Clint put a hand on her shoulder and reached up to squeeze it. No one said anything as Aspen started walking back to the cars. No one tried to stop her. When she reached the top of the hill, she couldn't hold back her emotions anymore. Glass shattered and sprayed everywhere as every window in the three cars exploded. A piece nicked Aspen's cheek, but she relished the pain. Right now that was the only thing she could feel.


	20. Part Three: Heroes and Villains

**Author's Note: **Sorry for the long wait! The hecticness of summer finally caught up to me. And I'm working five days in a row starting tomorrow, so it is going to continue, but I finally sat down and wrote last night. I got like 7 pages in two hours. I wanted to write so badly. I actually have like 5 chapters in part three, but I didn't want to get caught up posting what I'd already written and then just stop.

So I want to take the chance to say thank you to all of you who have favorited _A Game of Trust_. I'm almost up to 100 favorites which just blows me away. Wow. I never expected it to take off like that. Seriously. That makes my day. And thank you to everyone reading this story! I have some great ideas coming up and am really excited to take a deeper look at Steve and Aspen's relationship now that it's finally happened.

So I've seen _The Winter Soldier_ four times now and somehow that's not enough. (It's STILL in our discount theatre. I love it!) It will never be enough. Can it just be out on dvd already? And all the Age of Ultron hints and Comic Con photos! That is a big distraction to me when I'm trying to write... Hehe, RDJ called Chris a dorito in an interview. I laughed so hard.

In regards to this little plot we've got going on, I got my resources from the comic wiki, but I changed things up a little to make it more clear in my head. This isn't something we see in the movies and I was getting a little confused about who some of these people are not having actually read the comics, so I'm kind of doing my own thing. I did actually read _The Winter Soldier _comic on my kindle. I wanted to try reading one so I wouldn't be so close-minded about them. It was a little weird reading it at first, but I have to say I really got into the story and the illustrations were beautiful. I might have to buy vl.2 if it ever goes on sale...

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**Part Three: Heroes and Villains**

**Prologue – December 7, 1995**

The sound of machinery whirring and clicking beat its way into Barney's head. He couldn't think, couldn't move. There was a numbness that circulated its way through his body until he couldn't even tell if he was still in one piece. He tried to pry his eyes open but it was as if they were made of lead. Finally he managed to open them a sliver letting a sickly light penetrate through the crack. He opened them wider and even the dim light stung his eyes. He was in what appeared to be a small chamber, strapped to a gurney and injected with different liquids that bubbled along winding tubes and connected with machinery he couldn't name. His mind began to panic, but he forced himself to stay calm.

The last thing he remembered was going undercover as a bodyguard for a criminal named Marko. Someone had broken into his mansion, and Barney had taken an arrow to the heart. He shouldn't be alive right now. Whoever the archer was, he had been good. Too good. There was something familiar about the way he'd shot, but Barney hadn't gotten a good look at his face. He'd joined the FBI after a successful career in the Army, his skills on the field making him an invaluable agent, but this time he'd been out-skilled. He thought he remembered someone crouching over him after he'd been shot, a familiar voice saying his name. For a moment he had thought it was his brother, but he had no idea where Clint was. He hadn't seen his brother since he got on the bus and drove away from their old life five years before. He'd faded away before he could see who had stopped to help him. Somehow he had survived though.

He tried to move his arms, but they were strapped firmly down, preventing escape. He tried shouting, but his voice was hoarse and there didn't seem to be anyone in the vicinity. Finally he lay his head back and shut his eyes again. It could have been minutes or hours later when he heard a click and the groan of a heavy door opening. He opened his eyes. A blurry shape was coming toward him from the other side of the chamber. He heard the latch lift and watched as a lean man with a bald, elongated head approached the gurney.

"Hello, Mr. Barton. I'm Elihas Starr," he introduced himself in a simpering sort of voice. Barney instantly disliked him.

"Where am I? What happened?" Barney choked out.

"You've been in my healing facility for three months since I found you nearly dead. This is the first time you've woken up. The healing process is complete." Three months had passed? The bald man began moving around him, undoing wires and tubes. He kept Barney's arms strapped down.

"Who are you? Who do you work for?" His mind went to the list of FBI enemies. Or was this man a friend? As a man who'd been betrayed by his own brother, Barney had learned not to trust people.

"I work for a very important man who has a very important task for you. I'm his personal scientist."

"What are you doing to me?"

"Nothing too drastic. Just a little rewiring."

"What do you mean?" Barney clenched his fist trying to break free of his bonds, but the restraints were made of iron.

"Up until recently we had the cooperation of your brother but seeing you injured seems to have changed his mind about whose side he wants to be on. He's chosen some spy organization that tries to save the world over us. We need a replacement."

"Clint? What do you mean replacement? I'd never work for you!" he snarled.

"Of course you will. With the right persuasion." Now he was hooking another tube up to Barney, piercing his skin with a needle. "I dare say you'll be quite compliant once we're done here."

Barney tried to fight the sensation that took over his mind, but it overcame him. It was like floating. He felt himself forget his anger, forget his brother, forget everything until they were just parts of his past, there but not really important. His mind was compliant. He needed to do what this man asked of him.

"There now," Starr said, his voice sounding far away. "You're going to work for us now. We'll train you up, get you shooting as well as your brother, and then you're going to kill him."

"Kill him," Barney repeated.

"Yes, kill him." Starr clapped his hands together. "The Baron will be pleased," he said. "Very pleased."


	21. Up in Flames

**Author's Note: **I take that back. I work EIGHT days in a row. Super. And one of those is an 8 hour shift. Well, I will TRY to keep writing. I bought an Avengers notebook at Walmart yesterday, so maybe I can just hand-write at work. I usually get a little down time between customers. Ugh, this summer is trying to kill me. I managed to snag four days off to fly to Portland and visit my best friend going to grad school there, but that's about it. Fall will actually be a relief!

And let me just put in how freaking hot it is in my room right now. At least 90 degrees. No air conditioning. It was 100 today outside. The title of this chapter describes how I feel right now.

Alright, enough rambling, enjoy!

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**18 – Up in Flames – May 17, 2012**

Aspen stood watching the last of the fires burn out. The Iceland A.I.M. headquarters had been completely destroyed. A few stragglers had made it out alive before the building had blown. After Stewart had fallen into the portal taking the Eye with him, the power had been broken and his soldiers had managed to escape – at least some of them. Aspen couldn't bring herself to care about these people she didn't even know, not when she had just lost her father moments after being reunited with him. Life wasn't fair, but she had never been delusional enough to think so.

She was fingering her phone absentmindedly. This one object was all that was left of her parents' research. She had already tossed the floppy disk into the fire. Now she slid open the back of her phone and pulled out the memory card. She held it for a moment, staring down at it. This was the research that had torn her family apart and caused them so much grief. She tossed it into the fire and watched the metal melt. She heard someone come up behind her.

"You gonna be okay?" Clint asked her.

She turned to look at him. "I will be," she said. "Not today, but eventually. I spent most of my life thinking they were dead and now my dad really is gone. But it feels like less of a loss. Does that make sense? It sounds awful, but it would have been more difficult if I'd grown up with him."

"It makes sense," Clint told her. "You grew up without your parents. Doesn't mean you don't love them, but you don't have that closeness to them that most people have."

"Not people like us."

Clint gave her a wry smile. "Not people like us," he echoed.

"Where's Steve?"

"I told him to give me a minute, to give you a minute. I don't think he knows what to do with himself. He wants to comfort you but every time he looks at your face he sees those nasty bruises he gave you."

"He wasn't in his right mind."

"That doesn't mean he doesn't feel horrible about it."

"I know he feels horrible. I feel horrible for dragging him into all of this."

"He would have followed you anyway. I have the feeling he would follow you anywhere." Aspen looked over at him. Clint studied her in return. "He cares a lot about you, you know."

"I know."

"Do you? Because it's painful watching you two tiptoe around your feelings for each other when it's so obvious to everyone else."

Aspen opened her mouth but couldn't think of what to say to that. "I just don't think I can be happy right now," she finally said softly. "It feels wrong when my mom is so sad. She needs a lot of support right now. I just lost the dad I never knew, but she just lost the husband she's been with since college. She's been through so much. I can't imagine living life on the run, living in fear."

"Well now she doesn't have to live in fear if that's any consolation."

Aspen smiled at him. "It is. I'm just worried about her."

"What will you do now?" Clint asked her.

"What do you mean?"

"You told me before you went on this trip that you were thinking about resigning."

"I was." Aspen sighed. "I thought if I got out I wouldn't have to face this kind of disaster, but then I realized that if I ignored this sort of thing, ignored the bad out there, I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing I didn't do anything to prevent it. My dad told me that I should never stop fighting for what I believe in. Those were his dying words. I can do good in SHIELD. Only I don't want to be a scientist anymore. I want to be out in the field. I want to train to be a better agent."

"What about college?"

"I spent my entire life wanting to be a scientist like my parents but look where their work got them. If I keep going down that path I'm going to end up just like them. I always thought their work was something that would change the world. I just never realized what damage it would cause. I just destroyed the last bit of their research. At least the last I know of. I'm going to make sure their work never hurts anyone again."

"If you want to be a full agent you're going to have to do things you're not comfortable with," Clint warned her.

"I know that."

"Kill possibly."

"If that's what it takes to keep the world safe."

Clint gave her a long stare. "You've lost that innocence you had before," he said softly. "You can't go back after what you just went through."

"No, I can't."

"Just don't lose who you are," Clint told her. He gave her shoulder a squeeze. "Now do me a favor and talk to your soldier. He's been brooding all morning."

Aspen nodded to acknowledge that she'd heard him. She stood for a long while staring at the ashy remains of the research facility. SHIELD agents were scoping out the ruins to see if there was anything incriminating against A.I.M. that they could present to Fury. It seemed to Aspen that Stewart had done a very thorough job on destroying the lab though. She turned and then stopped short when she saw Steve standing a few yards away. He looked shyly at her, hesitant to come any closer. Aspen walked forward, looking up at him before putting her arms around him. He hesitated for a fraction of a second and then put his arms around her, pulling her close.

"I'm so sorry about your dad," he said softly.

"Me too." Aspen pressed her head into his chest, trying hard not to cry. She hadn't cried since her father had died. It was like all the stress in the last few weeks had drained her of all emotions. Her powers had been subdued as if her brain was aware that she didn't want to be hyper-reacting to everything right now. She didn't want her abilities at all, but with all the research destroyed, she didn't know if it would be possible to make a counter-serum. "I just want to go home," Aspen said finally.

"Then let's go."

Aspen pulled her head away to look up at him, keeping her arms wrapped around him. She could read the emotion in his eyes so clearly as he looked back down at her. "Quit blaming yourself," she told him. She hadn't looked in a mirror, but she supposed her bruises were pretty bad. Her back might have ached more, but somehow she seemed to be able to shut out the pain now. "It wasn't your fault."

"I know, but to think that something could make me do that…"

"Well it won't happen again. I know you would never deliberately hurt me." She hesitated then said, "I'm going to join SHIELD as a full agent."

He nodded, accepting her answer. "I'm going to join too," he said.

Aspen couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corners of her lips. "Really?"

"Yeah. We can be a team."

"I like the sound of that," Aspen said. She pulled away from him but took his hand. "I just want life to get back to normal. It's kind of sad that working for SHIELD is normal to me. This has just been a chaotic trip filled with heartbreak and unpleasant surprises."

"Have you told your mom that you're going to work full time at SHIELD?" Steve asked.

Across the parking lot Ava stood with Hannah talking quietly. "Not yet. I don't want to leave her alone, but I don't know how to console her. I'm never going to have a normal family life. After my dad died, I realized that it was all a fantasy. But it's all right. I've lived my entire life wishing for something that I couldn't ever have. It's time to move on, look ahead for once."

"It is time to move on from the past," Steve agreed.

"Ready to go?" Clint called to them, returning from scouring the ruins. He eyed their entwined hands and smirked slightly. Aspen rolled her eyes at him.

"Yeah," she said. "Get us out of here."

"The quinjet will be here in a minute. We didn't land because we didn't want to draw too much attention. Little community like this…"

"Good thinking."

They walked over to where Ava and Hannah stood. Both women looked up as they approached. Ava had tears in her eyes and her cheeks were puffy and red, but she took a deep breath and smiled at Aspen, reaching out a hand. Aspen let go of Steve's hand to take her mother's.

"Aspen, your grandmother and I were just catching up."

"That's nice. I didn't even realize I had a grandmother," Aspen said, throwing Hannah a shy smile.

"We didn't see eye to eye on a lot of things," Hannah said in way of explanation. "I got to see you when you were a baby, but we had a falling out."

"None of that matters now." Ava forced a brave smile. "I've decided to put the past behind me. No good came from the life I chose. Now we have a chance to have the life we should have had."

"Mom, I need to talk to you about-" Her words were cut off as the quinjet arrived, touching down in the parking lot.

"Later," Ava said. "We'll talk about everything later."

Aspen swallowed back her guilt. "Of course." How was she going to tell her mother she wasn't ever going to have that life? She had chosen to work for SHIELD. There was more good she could do. When her father had died, she'd realized that she wasn't ever going to have that perfect life but she found that she didn't want perfect, she just wanted to feel like she was making a difference in the world.

"Ready?" Clint asked, coming up beside her. Aspen nodded. She let Hannah and her mother board first and then Steve. Clint hesitated, looking back at the destruction. He narrowed his eyes. "Is that a person?" he asked.

Aspen turned around, squinting at the smoky scene. From the ashes rose a man swathed in purple and black. He held a bow much like Clint's and had his quiver attached around the front of his right thigh. He moved forward across the rubble and then stopped short when he realized he was being watched. Blue eyes hidden behind a mask shone out at them. His hair was red and stuck up in all directions. "Where did he come from? Clint?" Aspen looked over at her mentor who was standing quite still looking shocked. "Do you know him?" She touched Clint's arm when he didn't reply.

"Yeah, I knew him," Clint said, his voice rough. "I thought he was dead."

"Who is he?"

"He's my brother," Clint replied. "Barney Barton."

"I didn't realize you had a brother," Aspen said softly. Clint had never opened up to her about his past even after all they'd been through together. She hoped that was about to change.

Clint didn't tear his eyes away from his brother. "I never told you about my past," he said.

Barney's eyes met Clint's. Aspen could feel the tension fizzling through the air. Then a beam near where Barney was standing groaned and collapsed sending up a cloud of ashes and dust. When the ashes settled, Barney was gone as if he'd never been there to begin with. "Where did he go?" Aspen asked.

Clint stared off past the rubble. "I don't know," he said. He was looking pale and unsettled, a look Aspen very rarely saw. "But that was my brother. I'd know him anywhere. Why wouldn't he have said something though? It's been years, but how could he forget?"

"Is something wrong?" Steve walked up behind them.

"We just saw-" Aspen started.

"Nothing," Clint cut in. "It was nothing." Steve looked between Aspen and Clint and gave a nod.

"We're ready to go if you are," he said, not pressing the subject though Aspen could tell he didn't believe Clint.

"We're ready," Aspen answered, giving Clint one last look before following Steve. They boarded the quinjet, Clint jumping in a moment later, and took off. Aspen could tell his thoughts were with his brother. She didn't know what to say. She had no idea why he had been there or why he hadn't said anything to Clint. Was Clint going to tell her about his brother, about his past? She knew that as a spy he kept his past guarded so that no one could ever use it against him, but he had to know she would never do that. She decided that he would tell her when he was ready, and she wouldn't push him. She turned her eyes away from the window, glad to see the research facility fade from sight. She sighed and leaned back in her seat.

"You should try to sleep," Steve told her. "You've been through so much the last few days. We're safe now though."

Aspen felt as if a heavy weight was falling from her shoulders, leaving her much more relaxed than she had felt in weeks. She leaned her head on Steve's shoulder and allowed herself to fall into a deep sleep. She managed to sleep the entire flight home, so exhausted that her brain seemed to shut down for the hours, allowing her to sleep off the sorrow and pain and fear that plagued her when she was awake. When the quinjet alighted back in New York, Steve woke her with a nudge.

"Sorry to wake you," he said softly. "We're home."

Though Ava seemed to want to come home with Aspen, Hannah seemed to sense Aspen's reluctance. It wasn't that Aspen didn't want to spend time with her mom, it was just that she needed some time and some space to think things through. Her mom kept looking back at her as she followed Hannah out to the parking lot. They would all report in to Fury tomorrow. Clint made the arrangements for Gregor's body without asking if Aspen wanted him to. She sent him a thankful smile.

"We'll talk tomorrow," she told him. Clint nodded but his eyes were guarded.

"Take care, kid." He looked at Steve. "Take care of her," he said before turning and following the SHIELD agents that had alighted from the quinjet.

Steve drove Aspen home in her car. It was silly, but the familiar scent of her car was a comfort to her as she rested her cheek against the leather of the headrest. Outside the city lights shone like beacons in the night, winking at her in a welcoming way. This was home. Not Portland, not Arizona, not anywhere else. This was where she belonged.

When they reached her apartment, Steve walked her upstairs, waiting as she fumbled with the key. She switched on the light and turned to find Steve hovering in the doorway. "Did you want to come in?" she asked. She saw the hesitation on his face. He was thinking about what he'd done to her again. She wished her bruises would heal more quickly so he wouldn't have to look at her and see a constant reminder of what Stewart had forced him to do.

"For a minute or so," he said, finally entering.

"It seems odd being home after all that. It's so quiet and calm. I keep waiting for someone to come looking for me, trying to get their hands on the serum. It's going to take some getting used to."

"When we first started this, we wondered when it would end," Steve said.

Aspen sat down on the loveseat with a sigh. "I never imagined it would end this way. It seems so surreal to think that my dad is really dead. I spent most of my life thinking he was and now he really is."

"It's not fair that that had to happen," Steve agreed. He sat in the chair next to her. "I wish I could have done something more-"

"Don't play that game," Aspen silenced him. "We can all pass the blame and tell ourselves we could have done more, but it all happened so fast. He died to save me. He gave me a reason to keep fighting. Before all this I was ready to turn in my resignation to SHIELD. Clint always told me it was a lifes not a job. Well, it's my life, my calling. I just didn't realize it until now. There are other people like Stewart out there. They're going to hurt people and tear apart families. I want to do something about that."

"I'm going to accept Fury's offer tomorrow," Steve told her.

"He's offered you a job?" Aspen asked. "You never told me that."

"He approached me before we went to Portland, said he could use my help. I told him I'd think about it. I didn't want to influence to stay with SHIELD."

Aspen smiled. "That was thoughtful of you."

They lapsed into silence, and Aspen realized how exhausted she was. She could probably sleep all night and into the next day. Their meeting with Fury wasn't until ten, so she had some extra time to sleep. Steve looked exhausted too, and she wondered if he had slept at all on the plane. "We should get some sleep," she said.

They both stood, awkwardly avoiding the other's eyes. Finally their eyes met, and Aspen could see that Steve wanted to say something. Instead he moved toward the door. "If you need anything…"

"I know where to find you," Aspen finished, giving him a tired smile. "Thank you. For everything."

"I wish I could have done more," he said before leaving her.

"I wish I could have done more too," Aspen said to the empty room. It had occurred to her somewhere over the last day that if she had used her powers, she might have saved her father.


	22. Finally Home

**Author's Note: **Day five is over with. Only three more days until I get a day off... I almost put the phone in the mini fridge today at work when I was closing, so I think my brain needs a rest. But I did write some! I've also been working on my one-shot where Aspen meets Steve in the 40s. Considering I'm maybe halfway done and it's 34 pages already, I'm considering just turning it into a fan fiction rather than a short one-shot. I'm just having so much fun writing it! I love researching the WWII era and my Captain America wii game is actually giving me some really good ideas for things that Steve did but they didn't really show at all in the movie. Like he infiltrated a castle on the Danish border. How cool is that? Why did they spend so much time on that damn star-spangled man with a plan song when they could have gone into the (as my friend calls them) montages in more depth?

So I saw some CA shirts advertised in the Sunday flyers for Target and may have gone and purchased one. It's a girl's shirt so it actually fits me unlike my guy's CA shirt that is too big. It's got the shield...and is pretty awesome. Yeah.

Alrighty. Enjoy! As always, I really appreciate you reading! Thank you for the wonderful reviews! I love hearing from you - it totally makes my day!

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**19 – Finally Home – May 18, 2012**

For how little sleep Steve had gotten in the last few days, he still couldn't get to sleep after he returned to his apartment. It seemed empty without Aspen, and he found himself wanting to reach out to make sure she was still there. Maybe it was the fear of losing her he'd felt the last few weeks, but not being with her made him anxious even though he knew she was safe at home. Part of him was disappointed she hadn't asked him to stay. He didn't know where they stood, but right now wasn't the time to find out. Aspen was in mourning. It was natural that she would need her space. He'd seen how much her mother had wanted to stay with her and seen Aspen's hesitation. Aspen was used to living on her own, taking care of herself. It had taken her a long time to let Steve start looking out for her. She wasn't quite ready to let her mother back in yet.

He wished more than anything that he could have saved her father. Somehow. Everything had happened so quickly. Just like when Bucky had fallen to his death. If he had only reacted quicker, done something different… He knew blaming himself would do no good but Aspen's one chance at having her family back together had been taken away from her in that split second. It seemed so unfair when she had already suffered so much. He worried about how she was coping. Even though both his parents had died at a young age, Steve still remembered the loss he'd felt. He'd grown up not knowing what it was like to have a family. Bucky had been his only family, his one true friend. And then he had lost Bucky too. He knew how Aspen felt because he had lost everyone too. It became a sort of nagging fear and you began to worry that everyone would be taken from you eventually. From the moment Aspen had walked into his life, he had been somehow terrified of losing her. He realized he needed to tell her how he felt while he had the chance. Working for SHIELD was a dangerous job. Either of them could die on a mission. As soon as the dust settled he would tell Aspen how he felt. He hoped she already knew, but he needed to say it out loud.

He finally fell asleep with that thought, practicing the words he would say to her in his head until he finally gave in to his exhaustion.

…

The next morning he had every intention of going to pick up Aspen before their meeting at SHIELD headquarters, but at 7:30 am, he heard a knock on his door. He pulled his T-shirt over his head and padded barefoot to the door. Aspen stood there, two cups of coffee in her hands. Her bruises still stood out against her skin, and he felt a stab of guilt.

"I couldn't sleep after five," she told him. "So I went jogging. Then I stared at the wall for an hour, so I decided to see if you were up." She handed him one of the cups, and he stood aside so that she could enter, feeling suddenly self-conscious. "Sorry, did I wake you?" Aspen asked, looking up at his ruffled hair.

He ran a hand through it nervously. "No, I was already awake. I had trouble sleeping too."

Aspen sat down on one of the barstools at the kitchen counter setting down her cup. She looked tired. He could see bags under her green eyes, and today there was no sparkle in them. They looked sad the way people's eyes get when they've had too much sorrow to shoulder. He wanted to reach out and take her hand, but he held back, giving her space. Instead he took a sip of the coffee.

"I have to tell my mom about my decision today," Aspen said softly. "She called me this morning before I came here. She was worried about me. She wants me to move back to Portland with her, put this all behind us. She's even trying to convince Hannah – my grandma – to move back there with us."

"That was a fast decision."

"She wants to get back to a normal life as soon as possible. I don't think she realizes yet that it _isn't_ possible." She sighed. "My entire life, this was all I wanted. Even one parent is better than none, but I guess I outgrew that wish or something. I realized somewhere along the line that I can't _be_ happy with a normal life. I can't go back to Portland and pretend that none of this happened. I don't _want_ to pretend that it didn't happen. She thinks turning a blind eye to all of it will erase the past."

"She's just desperate to give you the life you deserve," Steve told her.

"You think I should go with her?" Aspen turned her green eyes on him. He could see emotion stirring behind them now. She didn't look very happy with his words.

"I think you should do what makes you happy," he returned.

"Right now I don't feel like I have a right to be happy," she told him.

"I know it feels that way, but you always have a right to feel happy."

"Then why do I feel so guilty?" she asked.

"Guilty? What for?" he asked, confused. Did she blame herself for her father's death? He knew she must feel some guilt, but it hadn't been her fault.

"For feeling a burst of happiness every time I'm close to you, every time you look at me. I just want to be with you right now and forget everything else, but I feel guilty because I should be mourning the father I never knew. It's selfish to even be thinking about myself right now. I haven't cried since he died. I just accepted it and moved on. What's wrong with me?" She was close to tears now, her green eyes glimmering with them as they threatened to overflow the corners of her eyes. Steve stood, astonished, not knowing how to respond. Then he set his coffee cup and took her hands in his. She looked up at him, a silent sort of desperation in her eyes.

"You are anything but selfish," he told her. "You went to all that effort to find your parents, placing yourself in danger."

"And you."

"I chose to come. Maybe we're both selfish because I can't stop feeling happier than I've been in longer than I can remember whenever I'm around you. I wanted to wait to tell you all of this, but I feel like you need to hear it. I spent a lot of time living in the past. I was confused about what I was feeling, how I felt about you. Then I realized whatever chances I had before are gone. But I have a chance right now. With you." Aspen met his gaze steadily, but he couldn't read the emotion behind her eyes. He plunged on before he lost all confidence. "I think I've felt this way for a long time, I was just too conflicted to recognize it. I hope I'm not wrong in thinking you have feelings for me too, but tell me if I am. I've never told a girl anything like that before, so I might just be going about this all wrong-" He cut off as Aspen leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. He closed his eyes and leaned into her, forgetting everything else for a moment.

When she pulled away, he rested his forehead against hers for a moment. She reached up and touched his face. "You're one of the first people I ever truly trusted, ever let in," she said softly. "When I'm around you I remember that there is some good left in the world, that there are things worth fighting for. When everything in my life was looking pretty grim, you woke up in the 21st century and befriended me. For the first time in a long time I remembered what it was like to have something to wake up for in the morning, something to look forward to. I never want that to end. I don't want that feeling to go away because we get too busy to see each other or drift apart." She tightened her grip on his hand. "I don't want to lose you."

"You won't," he promised. "I'm not going anywhere."

Aspen leaned forward and buried her face against his neck, putting both arms around him. He pulled her close, breathing in the scent that clung to her sweater. "I'm not going anywhere either," she said. "This right here is home. Being with you is home."

"I would never ask you to choose me over your mom."

"I know that. It's not like I'll never see her again if I stay here and she moves back to Oregon. We'll keep in touch. Once we've found each other, we can't go back. She'll know where I am." Aspen pulled back though she kept her arms around him. "So what does that make us?" she asked, a smile sliding over her face. The emptiness he had seen in her eyes was gone, replaced by a warmth that set his heart aglow. That he could make her happy even in the darkest times astounded him. She had the same effect on him though.

"Whatever you want us to be."

"Just together is good."

He smiled. "Why don't I cook us breakfast?"

"Is this going to turn out like the dinner you cooked me?" she teased him.

He grimaced. "Better hopefully. I have one of those boxes with pancake mix."

"Eggs? Milk?" She pulled away and hopped down from the stool, going over to the refrigerator. He caught her by the waist as she pulled out a carton of milk.

"I thought_ I _was cooking _you_ breakfast," he said.

"Alright." She set the milk down and twisted out of his arm. "I'll let you cook." She sat back down with her coffee, but the smile didn't fade from her lips. He set to making the pancakes, feeling a sense of satisfaction when they turned out looking correct. Aspen sat still as he set a plate in front of her as well as a bottle of syrup and a fork.

They ate in silence, each deep in their own thoughts. Steve's head was still buzzing with their conversation. He couldn't believe he'd gotten the nerves to tell her how he felt. He was just relieved she felt the same. This was a new experience for him. He'd hardly ever dated in the past, usually just a double-date with Bucky and usually both girls were more interested in Bucky. The sudden interest girls took in him after the serum had always made him uncomfortable. Girls like Peggy and Aspen didn't look at him differently for it though. They liked him for who he was, valued more than just his physical strength.

He wanted to take Aspen out, do something nice for her like normal couples did, but he would wait until after her father's funeral. He would never try to take up that attention. He just didn't want to see her so lost. He needed her to know that he was there for her and always would be.

"Thank you for looking after my mom while I was gone," Aspen said, bringing Steve back to the present. "She told me that you defended her even though you were putting your own life at risk."

"I couldn't just let Stewart beat her up. He was a bully." He noticed that Aspen was staring at him like she tended to do when he did something that most people wouldn't do. To him it was instinct to protect those in need. He didn't see another option other than helping them. _You're just so good_, Aspen had told him before.

"She really likes you, you know," Aspen said with a smile. "Even though her entire world had just been torn apart, she wanted me to know how much you did for her."

Steve was about to say he wished he could have done more, but they'd both already voiced that the night before. They couldn't go back and change the past. There was only moving on, and he knew how hard that could be.

"She's very proud of you, you know," Steve told her. "Of who you've become."

Aspen looked surprised. "Even after the mess I've made of my life?"

"I don't think you've made a mess of it. You've spent your life trying to fix what happened to you as a child, what happened to them. It's one of many selfless traits you have," he added.

"Selfless? I guess I've never seen myself as all that selfless. I've spent my entire life trying to find what I want – my family, some semblance of normalcy. I've spent far too much time thinking about myself."

"I don't think that's true. You didn't have to reach out to me, but you did. I can't tell you how grateful I am for that. You even reached out to Loki when he was lost and alone in this world. You kept fighting for him because you don't give up on people. You never gave up on your parents. You risked your life to protect them." He hated to think that she didn't see this in herself. Her green eyes were distant and thoughtful.

"I'd like to be the girl you're describing," she said. "Maybe I just need to see it with my own eyes. I want to help people. That's part of the reason I can't just give up this life and go live with my mom. I can't turn my back on the world just to gain what I've always wanted. That _would _be selfish."

"Aspen, if that's what you want, you should take that chance," Steve insisted. "This is your family we're talking about. The one you grew up without."

"At least half of it," she replied sadly. "I do want a family, but I have one. Just being able to see my mom and dad again was something I never thought I'd have."

"I'm sure she'll understand your choice."

"Are you? I'm not so sure." She sighed. "But if she's truly proud of me, she'll eventually accept my decision. I know we've only just been reunited, but I'm not going anywhere."

They lapsed into silence. Steve poured another round of batter and served up two more pancakes. Aspen chewed slowly, staring at her fork as if it fascinated her.

"I've been meaning to ask but I didn't want to bring up a sensitive topic," Steve started. It was something he'd been wondering but hadn't wanted to press Aspen about. "How did you get the Eye from Odin's vault? Did Loki help you?" He tried to push back the hint of jealousy he felt whenever Loki's name came up.

"He did," Aspen said, watching him carefully as if she knew exactly was going on in his head. "I –er– helped him escape the Asgardian dungeons. My…powers helped." She clenched her fist, and Steve wondered how she was coping with the serum. He thought back to when he and first been injected with the Super Soldier Serum. He'd hardly known how to use his own legs. It had taken a long time to get used to. Of course he'd been enlisted to help sell bonds. There wasn't much use for his strength then besides pleasing the crowd.

"Did you have trouble breaking into the vault?" he asked, trying to picture Asgard and what would lie in Odin's treasure vault.

"Not breaking in." She hesitated, and Steve could tell something was bothering her. "The Tesseract was there in the vault. Among other things."

"Glad to know it's somewhere safe." The thought of Loki getting anywhere near the Tesseract again gave him chills.

"I just kept imagining these things falling into the wrong hands," Aspen said. Steve knew she was thinking about Stewart, but his thoughts were still on Loki.

"What happened to Loki?" he asked. This had been nagging him for awhile.

"He wanted to come back with me but his father caught up to us. He must have been captured, but I didn't see what happened before I fell through the portal."

Steve felt a surge of relief followed by an anxiety. Would Aspen have allowed him to come back if Odin hadn't intervened?

"I told him 'no'," Aspen told him as if reading his thoughts. "And that Fury would fry me if I allowed him to come back."

Steve smiled at this. "I can't see what he would want with our world. I think we sent him a clear message before."

"He's rather negative toward the Avengers," Aspen said with a frown. "He didn't think saving you was a good enough reason to break into the vault."

"That doesn't surprise me."

"He did help a lot though. His illusions are useful. Also…I was in pretty rough shape when I got there."

Steve felt a stab of worry. "How so?"

"I started coughing up blood. I blacked out for a few hours. Loki was actually quite kind to me. I might have been found and thrown into the dungeons myself if he hadn't helped."

"Why did he help you?" Steve asked, fearing the answer. "If he didn't think saving me was a good reason to help."

"He helped me because I told him I was dying."

"He still cares about you," Steve said.

She gave him a curious look. "You're not jealous are you?" she asked, a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth.

"Jealous? Of Loki?" he asked. "No."

"He said the same thing when I asked if he was jealous of you," Aspen said knowingly. "You don't have to worry about him," she added. "I care about him strangely enough, but my feelings for him before were spontaneous and not well-thought out. Basically they were a bad idea. We parted as friends. That's enough for me."

"You're so willing to forgive," Steve said. "I'm not that forgiving. It takes a lot for me to be able to see the good in a guy like Loki."

"Well he did give you a hard time in Germany and New York," Aspen reasoned.

"Well never mind about Loki. I'm just glad you're safe. How are you coping with your powers?" he asked.

Aspen sighed again. "It's like being high on caffeine or something. I just feel so alert and aware of everything around me. Everything is magnified and I can sense things I never could before. I keep trying to tone it down, but then it's like a dull throbbing in the back of my head. I'm going to see if my mom can create a serum to take it away. I don't want this. I just want to be normal."

"I'm sorry you had to be injected with it," Steve said softly.

"I can't deny it helped me retrieve the Eye," Aspen replied. "But I feel inhuman right now, and I hate it."

"I know the feeling. Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like if I was normal, but then I think about all the people I wouldn't have saved. The serum was a gift. It gave me the ability to do what I'd always wanted to do."

"It helped you save the world. Not that you couldn't have before."

Steve ducked his head. "I had some help."

"Always so modest." Aspen stood, rinsing her plate in the sink. She put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher and turned to survey him. "What did I do to deserve you?"

Steve took a step toward her. "Everything," he said. "You don't have to prove anything. You don't have to work to deserve me. Don't ever think that." He hesitated, still unsure of the boundaries. This was a new century. He'd seen the way couples acted around each other in public. He wasn't comfortable with that, but it didn't mean he had to keep his distance from Aspen altogether. He wrapped a hand around her back and pulled her to him, his heart beating quickly at her closeness. She leaned up and brushed her lips over his, resting her hand over his heart. He kissed her back, overcoming his shyness and letting instinct take over. What would have frightened him more than anything before now felt natural. Being with Aspen felt natural.

When they pulled apart, Aspen's face was glowing though he could see the lingering sadness in her eyes. That wasn't going to fade any time soon. It had taken a long time for him to heal over the loss of Bucky. It still hurt. He understood that loss, but he wanted to keep her as happy as he could. She deserved happiness after all she had been through. It was time for a new start.

"What can we do to keep your mind off of everything until the meeting?" Steve asked her, tucking a strand of her red hair behind her ear. He let his finger brush her face noticing the light freckles dotted across her nose and the way her eyes matched the leaves on the summer trees outside.

"Besides this?" she murmured. Steve felt his cheeks grow red. She seemed to sense his embarrassment and took a step back. "We can move slowly, you know," she said. "I'm not exactly an expert at relationships. In fact, I have a pretty bad track record." She grimaced. "I never want to make you feel uncomfortable."

Steve smiled at her. "I appreciate that," he said. "It will just take some getting used to. Things move a lot faster in the 21st century."

"I'll warn you if I ever get the desire to take your hand in public," she teased him.

The entire idea of being with Aspen still astounded him. It was so new and yet they'd been holding off for so long, not quite brave enough to tell the other how they felt.

"Honestly just sitting and talking about anything besides the last few weeks would be wonderful," she said.

"You've got it." They moved to sit down on the couch, Aspen sitting cross-legged next to him, knees against his leg. They talked about everything they could think of that had nothing to do with the sad things in their lives. It was like opening a door into the other's life, spilling out details they'd thought unimportant before. He wanted to know everything about Aspen and she wanted to know everything about him down to his favorite color and his favorite song from the 30s. The swelling happiness in him only grew when he realized that Aspen was truly opening up to him. She trusted very few people in her life and right now he had the feeling that he knew more about her than anyone else. Every mundane detail was just another part of what made Aspen so special to him.

When a quarter to ten came, they set aside their empty coffee cups and headed out to Aspen's car. Steve squeezed her hand. "Whatever happens," he told her. "However people react to your decisions. I'm with you."

She gave him a small smile. "That's what's kept me going for the last few months," she replied.


	23. Tough Decisions

****Author's Note: ****I can't believe it! I get the whole weekend off! I will actually have time to write!

* * *

**20 – Tough Decisions – May 18, 2012**

Whatever happiness Aspen had felt earlier that morning had dulled to a nervous flutter in her heart. She was now sitting in Fury's office along with Clint, Steve, Hannah, and her mother. Ava had recounted everything that had happened between her disappearance and eventual rescue. Hannah reported her observations from Portland and Everest.

"_You_ sent her to follow us?" Aspen asked Fury.

"Did you really think I would let you go alone with no weapons?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow at her.

"We can handle ourselves without weapons."

"Clearly." Sensing the sarcasm, Aspen glowered. "Multiple interested parties were after you. After you were captured, Agent Fengard sent word to SHIELD. Shortly after that Agent Barton got in contact with your coordinates. He'd noticed you were no longer in the country."

"He got there just in time. Stewart was about to inject his army with both the Superhero Serum and Super-Adaptoid. He would have unleashed something not even the Avengers could handle."

"Ava mentioned you were injected with the Neurological Potential Stimulus," Fury said, calling the serum by its official name. "How is that affecting you?"

"It's incredible and horrible at the same time," she admitted. "I can sense so much more. I know things I shouldn't be able to know. I remember every detail of everything that's happened the last few days, everything that's around me. It's like being aware of everything and understanding everything. I have some abilities too like breaking glass with my emotions – it's like I can actually send out the energy waves. The list of possibilities is unlimited, but I'm limited in what I can do simply because I don't _know_ what all I can do."

"Is there a way to reverse the serum's effect?" Fury asked Ava.

Ava shook her head. "Not anymore. I lost all my work. I could start over, but it would take years to get the proper materials."

Fury turned his eye back to Aspen. "Would you like to fill in your side of the story?" he asked her.

She nodded, took a deep breath, and told her story. She started with the plane ride and her and Steve's suspicions that they were being followed. When she mentioned the Sunflower House, Ava clutched the arm of her chair. She told them about her journey to Asgard and the help Loki had given her. She couldn't read the expression on Fury's face throughout that part of the story, but he stayed silent. Finally she came to the last part. She paused finding it difficult to relate again. When she had finished, everyone was silent for a long while.

"I'm sorry to hear about Gregor," Fury said. "He was a good man. He brought his little girl to work one day back in 93'. I told him it was no place for a child, but you fit right in. Wouldn't stop asking questions."

"I was here before?" Aspen asked.

"Different headquarters, but yes. You've still got that spunk."

Aspen had no idea that she'd met Fury before. She imagined a two-year-old version of herself running around SHIELD headquarters asking questions. It brought a smile to her face. "You're sure Loki didn't make it through that portal?" Fury asked, changing the subject.

"Yes, sir. He went to face his father to give me time to escape. Odin would have dealt with him."

"Stewart set a guard on the portal," Ava put in. "To make sure you didn't slip through and to make sure that no one followed you."

"Good." He turned his eye to Clint. "Seems like everything is well in hand. You eliminated a serious threat. Of course A.I.M. itself still exists out there, but one research facility down is a start. Now I'd like to discuss something with Captain Rogers and Miss Tolvar in private if you wouldn't mind."

Ava threw Aspen a concerned look but got up with Hannah and Clint. As they filed out of the office, Ava gave Aspen's shoulder a squeeze. Instead of reassuring her, it made Aspen feel even guiltier for choosing SHIELD over her mother. Once the door had shut, Fury started. "After New York you were having doubts about whether or not you wanted to stay in SHIELD's employment," he said to Aspen. "I offered you a job as a full time agent, and you said you'd consider it. Have you come up with a decision?"

Aspen took a deep breath. "I have. I decided I want to train to become a full agent. I'm dropping out of the science program. I can't keep with it after watching my parents' work destroy our lives. I want to help people."

"You know that a full agent has to do things he or she might not be comfortable with," Fury said.

"I know that."

"Even kill in the line of duty."

"Yes, sir."

"I wanted to make sure you knew that. It isn't an easy life."

"I never thought it was, but it was the life I was meant for. I've never been more sure of anything. I've had a taste of the villains out there, and I realized the world needs people who are willing to fight against that evil."

"Good. How about you, Rogers?" he turned his gaze to Steve.

"I'm in," Steve said. "On one condition."

"I'm listening."

"Aspen and I get to work together," he said. "As a team."

"Deal. I'll give you a couple weeks to get things in order." Aspen knew he was referring to her father's funeral. "I suppose you'll need to break the news to your mom. I offered her a job here as head of the science division, but she wants nothing to do with science anymore. Maybe you can change her mind, make her see that she could do a lot of good if she worked on counteracting the dangerous things out there that we come across."

"I can try. I think she needs some time to accept everything. It's been a hell of a ride, and I'm not sure even I could convince her to stay on."

"Understood." The conversation was clearly over so Aspen and Steve stood. Fury shook both of their hands. "Good to have you aboard," he said.

"Good to be aboard, sir," Aspen replied, and she meant it.

…

Aspen found her mom waiting out in the hall. Hannah was gone, and Ava said that she was following up on some leads she had on another enemy organization that had been after the Superhero Serum. Clint was nowhere to be seen. Aspen wondered if he was avoiding her. Ever since he had seen his brother, he was quieter than usual. Not that they'd been back for long, but she'd still noticed a difference. If anyone could understand finding out that your family wasn't really dead, it was Aspen. She hoped he would open up to her soon.

"Mom, I need to talk to you," she said as they started down the hall.

"I'll give you some privacy," Steve said. "I'll be downstairs."

"I was thinking," Ava started, "after the funeral, I'm going to scatter Gregor's ashes over the Sunflower House. It was the last place we were truly happy. He'd like that."

"That's a beautiful idea," Aspen told her.

"I was thinking we could look at houses there. Something small."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." Aspen took a deep breath.

"Is it Steve?" Ava asked.

Aspen looked at her in surprise. "No. Well, sort of. I mean, I don't want to move away from him, but that's not what I was going to say." She took a deep breath. It was now or never, she just hated to see the look of disappointment on her mom's face. "I'm going to stay here. I want to train to be a full agent. I'm going to keep working for SHIELD."

Ava was silent as she registered what Aspen was saying. She looked hurt and disappointed as Aspen had predicted. "If it's because you feel like you need to avenge your father's death…"

"No, it's not that. I just…I realized there are so many people out there who want to hurt the world. I need to be one of the people stopping them. I'm tired of being afraid and of getting hurt. Tired of watching people I care about get hurt. I want to be able to defend myself and others. More than I can now. SHIELD can offer me that."

"I understand why you're not going to pursue your studies in science, but Aspen, this is your whole life. We have a second chance. Are you going to just let that slip by?"

"No. I was hoping you'd stay in New York. We can visit. We can go do things that mother and daughters do."

"Between missions, you mean," Ava said bitterly.

"I'm not going to lose you again. And you're not going to lose me. I can't just go back. It's been too long. We can't change the past, but we can forge a new future. I've changed though. I don't want my future to just be a shadow of the past."

Ava was silent for a long while. "You are so much like your father," she said finally. "He was always dreaming of the future, never dwelling in the past. I've always been far too sentimental for my own good. Afraid to let go, to move on. But look at you. You're grown up. I have no right to tell you how to live your life. If this is what you want, then I support you."

"Thank you, Mom. That means a lot to me. This really is what I want. Steve is going to work for SHIELD too. We're going to work together."

"Is that the reason you really wanted to stay?" Ava asked.

Aspen shook her head. "I decided that before I knew that Fury had offered him a job."

"He's a good guy, you know. Steve. There are not many men, if any, like him today. His values and his mindset are from the 40s, but he could teach the men of today a thing or two. He's humble and a gentleman."

"I know that," Aspen said with a smile. "We're together now. Going out. I'm not really sure what to call it. I guess I should research what exactly you called dating in the 1940s." She felt nervous talking about this with her mom but also excited. It was normal, just strange. She'd never had anyone to talk to before like that.

Ava smiled and for the first time in the last two days, Aspen could tell that she was truly happy. "That's wonderful. How long have you known each other?"

"Not that long. Since halfway through April. We've been through so much together though. I think that counts for double." It really wasn't that long, but she felt as if she'd known him for ages. She'd never let anyone in that fast, never felt so strongly.

"You were both here during the alien attack."

"Yeah. We fought together."

"You're so brave, Aspen. I was never that brave."

"I think you're plenty brave. You stood up to Stewart for a long time."

"And look where it got us."

"The world would probably be in chaos if you hadn't stalled so long," Aspen insisted. "You basically saved the world at great personal risk. That's brave. That's a hero."

"I just wanted to protect my family." She gave Aspen a sad smile. "I didn't do a good job of that."

"Dad dying wasn't your fault. Stewart was a villain. If we give into sorrow and despair then he will have won. Dad would want us to move on with our lives. _Live_ our lives for once. You deserve that. I'm just sorry he didn't get to taste that freedom."

"He got a different kind of freedom. Now no one can hurt him," Ava said softly.

…

Steve paced back and forth in the lobby of SHIELD headquarters. Aspen had been talking to her mom for nearly twenty minutes and he was worried about how the conversation was going. He had a feeling Aspen's mom wasn't going to be happy about her choice, but she had to realize that Aspen had been living her own life for a long time. He wondered if things would be different if her father had lived. Would she have still decided to stay with SHIELD?

"You look nervous. Did Fury grill you or something?" a familiar voice called out. Steve turned to see Clint walking toward him.

"No, Aspen's telling her mom that she's becoming a full agent."

"Ah. I trained her, you know. She has a lot of skills that just need to be honed. She hadn't been on a lot of missions but she proved herself in New York whether she realizes it or not. She might get fazed sometimes and think it's a good reason to give up, but she never does give up, that's the thing. She keeps on fighting even when she thinks she can't."

"She doesn't accept defeat," Steve agreed.

"I meant to apologize for what I said when we were in Iceland," Clint said. "About you not protecting Aspen. She told me the whole story. You did the right thing."

"It didn't feel like it, but I didn't see another choice."

"She cares a lot about you, you know."

"I know. I care about her too." Clint gave him a scrutinizing look, and Steve wondered if he was in for a lecture. He knew how protective Clint was over Aspen and respected that bond they had.

"You're one of the few I would trust with her," Clint finally said. "Just as long as she doesn't fall for that demi-god again."

Steve laughed nervously. "I think she's demoted him to friend only."

"Good. Well, not good, but at least she's come to her senses. Somewhat."

"Who's come to their senses?"

Both Clint and Steve turned to see Aspen stepping out of the elevator, Ava at her side.

"No one," Steve said at the same time as Clint said, "You."

Aspen frowned. "What am I missing?" she asked. Steve noticed that though Ava looked stressed, neither of them looked angry. Hopefully Aspen's decision had been accepted.

"I was just telling Steve that you finally came to your senses. He's a lucky man," Clint said, turning to leave.

"Wait, Clint, I wanted to talk to you," Aspen said.

"I know what you're going to ask. Later though, okay?" Clint asked, looking strained. Aspen looked frustrated.

"Alright," she replied reluctantly. Steve wondered what was going on. "But we will talk, right?"

Clint gave her a wry smile. "Yeah, I guess I owe you a story," he said before leaving them.

"What was that about?" Ava voiced the thoughts Steve had kept to himself.

"Nothing," Aspen said. "Just something he's dealing with."

"Hannah is meeting me in a few minutes. She's going to help make all the funeral arrangements," Ava said. "But you two should go spend the rest of the day together."

"I can stay, Mom. You don't have to deal with this by yourself. I mean, I'm glad Hannah's helping, but I can help too."

Ava took her hand. "I don't want you to have to plan your own father's funeral," she said. "We'll take care of it."

"Alright. Call me if you need anything," Aspen told her, furrowing her brow as if she didn't believe her mom had it all under control.

"I will."

As Steve and Aspen turned to leave the building, Aspen slipped her hand into his. He gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Can we walk around the park or something?" Aspen asked. "I feel like I need to get away from everything for awhile."

"Of course."

…

They found their way back to the same bench they'd sat on the first day they'd met right alongside the duck pond. Steve was itching to sketch. The last time he'd drawn anything it had been on the flight into Portland. He didn't have any paper on him, so he contented himself with observing in silence. Aspen kept ahold of his hand, and he had no desire to let go.

"When I think about what this whole situation would be like without you, I don't think I could get by," Aspen said suddenly. "I'd feel so lost without an anchor to keep me from losing my mind. I'd be stuck in a nightmare with no one to pull me out."

Steve tightened his grip on her hand. "You don't have to get by on your own," he told her.

"I'm still getting used to that," she admitted, "but it's a bit of a relief really. Doing everything on your own gets lonely."

"Well now you don't have to be lonely," he said with a smile.

"My mom wanted me to move back to Portland with her," Aspen said after a pause. Steve had been wondering how her conversation with her mom had gone but he figured she'd talk about it when she was ready.

"Wouldn't that bring back all the memories?" he asked. "I would think that might be hard for her."

"I know it'd be hard for me. It'd be like trying too hard to reclaim my childhood. I'm not a child anymore though. I can't go back to that. I don't want to. It's just too late. She was upset when I told her I was staying here, but in the end she accepted my decision. I know she's just scared for me. Scared to lose me again. I'm not going anywhere though."

"Will she stay here or do you think she has her heart set on moving back to Portland?" Steve asked her. He hoped Ava would stick around. She had a chance to have a relationship with her daughter, but if she moved away, it would be harder to stay in touch. Talking on the phone everyday wasn't the same as seeing each other.

"I don't know," Aspen replied. "I hope she stays. I told her she should. I didn't breach the matter of working for SHIELD again yet. I'm not sure what she'd say to that. I think she still partially blames SHIELD for what happened in 1994." Aspen leaned her head back, gazing up at the blue sky above them. She looked tired, and Steve could see the tension in her shoulders. "I just want to move forward but I keep feeling like my past is dragging me back. I'm sure it will just take time. Time heals almost everything. In a year, I'll look back and it won't seem like such a nightmare."

"Makes New York almost seem like a piece of cake."

"I'd take alien attacks any day over crazed scientists trying to take over the world and threatening my family."

"How did Loki feel about someone trying to pick up where he left off?"

"He wasn't too happy about that. He didn't think Stewart could do it."

"What do you think he would have done if he had come back with you?" Steve asked.

"I'm not sure." Aspen bit her lip. "I think he just wanted to be free. Living out the rest of your life in Asgardian prison can't be fun."

"No, I suppose not." Steve still felt like Loki had gotten what he deserved, but he didn't voice this out loud. The world was a lot safer without the demi-god with a power complex wandering around.

"I know what you're thinking," Aspen said. "Believe me when I say I refused to take Loki back with me."

"I believe you." He thought back to Stewart's body falling back through the portal before it had imploded. "Do you think Stewart was dead when he fell through the portal?" he asked, frowning.

Aspen looked up at him, her eyes startled. "You think he could have survived two arrows to the heart and three bullets?"

"I'm just not sure what he's capable of with both my powers and full access to his brain," Steve said cautiously, not wanting to upset Aspen. "But I doubt even he could survive that." But not knowing for sure bothered him.

"If he did survive then he'd be in the hands of the Asgardians. I'm not sure what they'd do with him."

Steve hardly heard Aspen. Another thought had occurred to him, something he'd never thought about before. This thought frightened him more than the thought of Stewart still being alive. Aspen seemed to notice his distress. "What is it?" she asked.

"I was just thinking. The Tesseract's energy could create a portal into another world. When the Red Skull held it, I thought it killed him, but it also opened up a portal. He was sucked into the portal. What if he didn't die?"

Aspen's worried eyes met his and the silence between them stretched on. "You think Schmidt could still be alive?" she asked.

"I don't know. It's the not knowing that scares me," he replied.

"Well he would be dead by now, right? I mean, that was a long time ago."

"I'm still alive."

"But you were frozen for 67 years. It preserved your body. He wouldn't have had that luxury."

Steve nodded. It made sense. There was nothing to say that Schmidt had survived touching the Tesseract. "You're right."

"He would have already come back if he was going to," Aspen reassured him. "But if he does come back, we'll be ready. You defeated him once and now you have a whole team of superheroes at your side." She grinned. "Never thought I'd say that. The days of not believing in heroes and villains are gone."

"You forgot to ask Fury for your cape," Steve reminded her.

Aspen laughed. "Maybe I'll get promoted and that can be my bonus." They turned the subject to less dark thoughts, and passed the rest of the afternoon in the park. For a moment it felt good to revel in the fact that they were not currently fighting some enemy. No one was trying to kill them, no one was sending them off anywhere. They were just normal people for the day. Or at least as normal as they could be.


	24. Faded Memories

**Author's Note: **I have all kinds of fun things planned for this series! I have officially titled and made the cover for the third in the series which will probably come out this winter. I will give you more information closer to the end of this story. I'm still working on the one-shot where Steve and Aspen meet in the 1940s. Yeah, it's getting long. It might just be its own fan fiction. Also I just started a series of shorts that will fill in the time between this story and the third one. They will cover the time in between and include some fun scenes like Aspen receiving her codename and Steve running into some crazed fangirls.

I just beat my Captain America wii game. It was SO much fun. I love that Chris Evans voiced Cap. He had some rousing speeches. He's also kind of a dork.

So I will be in Portland for four days at the start of next week, so I'll update when I get back. I'm super excited. I've worked so much this summer, I really need a vacation however short.

99 favorites for A Game of Trust. I seriously can't believe it! Wow. Thank you so much and thank you for reading this story too. I appreciate you taking the time to read. And thank you to those who have taken the time to leave a review. It means a lot to me! Writing these stories makes me so happy, and I hope reading them makes you happy too. Also oh my gosh, September 9th needs to be here cause that DVD needs to be in my hands. I have the day off, so I am so at whatever store has the best deal. I hate that the DVD is just boring, no special features. Well, minimal. Sorry I don't have a blue ray player. Sheesh. Okay, ranting done. I've been ranting about that for like three months now.

* * *

**21 – Faded Memories – May 24, 2012**

Aspen tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear as it fell from the bun at the back of her neck. Her black dress tugged at her as a wind picked up, blowing across the cemetery. Steve stood by her side, dressed in a black suit and tie. His hand was linked with hers, his face downcast as they watched the casket lower into the ground. Ava and Hannah stood side-by-side across from them and even Aunt Vi had made it. She stood a little apart from Ava looking uncomfortable. It was a small funeral and a short one. Clint had taken the afternoon off to be there for Aspen, and she felt a little braver with him there. Ava had decided to have the casket buried in New York. The ashes she would scatter in Portland in the yard of the Sunflower House. It was where they had been happiest and even though she had accepted that they'd never get that life back, she still wanted Gregor to be there.

She had decided to stay in New York after all and had even started looking for a place of her own though Hannah assured her she could live with her as long as she wanted. Aspen could tell how strong Ava was trying to be. She was broken on the inside, but she was trying so hard to move forward. Aspen herself had spent the last week trying to accept everything that had happened.

The day before the funeral had been rough though. Somehow her powers had broken through causing her to feel everything as if it had been magnified. She'd nearly hurt herself trying to push the feelings back, trying to subdue the pain. It was like her mind was micro-examining everything. She couldn't control it even though Ava had assured her it was possible. The scientist in Ava hadn't disappeared, and Aspen could tell she was fascinated with Aspen's abilities. She kept saying how valuable it would be in the field, but Aspen just wanted to be normal again. Every time she asked her mom if she would try to create an antidote, Ava said she would work on it after the funeral. Aspen couldn't wait that long though. In her desperation, her thoughts had gone to an object sitting forgotten in the bottom drawer of her desk. Loki had ruined one of the cuffs, but she still had the other one. With a sense of imprisonment, Aspen had fastened the cuff around her left wrist, wincing as it locked in place. She could unlock it if she wished, but the relief that flooded through her the second she put it on told her she would not be taking it off. Even though the abilities she had were neurological and not magical, the cuff cut them off. She had shut her eyes, breathing in the normalcy that had followed. No more scrutiny of every single detail around her, no more magnified senses and emotions. She couldn't break glass if she got angry or move objects with her mind or read the temperature of the room. She was simply Aspen again.

Now as she stood next to Steve, she felt his thumb rub the cuff. He hadn't liked the idea of her imprisoning herself in the device, but once he'd seen her relief, he'd grudgingly accepted it. "I just wish you hadn't been forced into this," he'd told her. "At least I agreed to my serum."

As the funeral concluded and the last of the dirt had been piled onto the empty coffin, Aspen let go of Steve's hand and walked forward. She knelt next to the grave. "I'm still fighting," she said softly. She knelt there another moment and then straightened, walking back to Steve. She paused as Clint reached out to hug her. She gripped him tightly. "Thank you for being here," she told him.

"Of course. If you need anything at all, I'm here for you, Pen," he returned before letting go.

Aspen smiled at him before returning to Steve's side and slipping her hand into his again. She watched as Ava walked forward, silent tears streaming down her cheeks. She knelt beside the grave and began to weep. Aspen wanted to go to her, to reach out and try to calm her, but what could she say? There was nothing she could do to take away that pain. Instead she turned and pressed her head against Steve's chest, unable to watch her mother's pain. Steve slipped his arm around her, pulling her into him. It seemed like an eternity passed before Ava's sobbing finally ceased. Aspen pulled away to see Aunt Vi and Hannah on either side of her as she walked away from the grave. Aspen met her eyes, and Ava gave her a brave smile. Aspen couldn't bring her lips to rise so she simply watched as her aunt and grandmother comforted her mom. She felt completely useless. Steve seemed to sense her discomfort. "Do you want to go with them?" he asked.

"I'm not sure I could handle that. Could we just go home?"

He nodded. "Of course."

She'd started referring to either her or his apartment as 'home.' It didn't really matter which as long as he was at one of them. Now he took her back to his apartment, sensing that she wanted to be away from the pictures and memories she kept around her own apartment. She settled onto his couch, and he made her a cup of tea before sitting next to her. She curled up against his side, cradling the mug and staring into space.

"I feel like such a terrible daughter. I should be with my mom comforting her, but I don't know what to say. I don't know how to make her feel better. I just can't be around that kind of grief right now. I need to grieve in my own way. I grieve by letting go and moving on. I don't see the use in mourning for a long time. I need to keep busy and get on with my life. I know my dad would want that, but I feel like I should be moping around crying. I feel sad, but I also feel a desire to keep fighting, for him, for myself. I feel like that makes me so insensitive."

"That's not insensitive. You turn your grief into action. You're a passionate person. There's nothing wrong with that," he assured her.

She looked up at Steve. "You've dealt with loss too," she said softly. "When you lost Bucky. You kept fighting."

She saw a wave of sorrow pass through his eyes and felt sorry for bringing it up, but she needed to hear how he'd dealt with that loss. "I did. I knew he would have wanted me to. I channeled my loss into a passion to bring down the enemy who had caused his death. I wasn't going to let the bullies win."

"I want to be like that. I don't want to let this bring me down. I miss him, I always will, but I've missed him for eighteen years. I already did my mourning," she realized. "I grieved for them when I was old enough to understand my loss. I thought they'd both died, thought I'd never see them again. But they didn't die, and I did get to see them again. I wish he could have lived, but just getting to see him one last time was a gift. To know I had parents who loved me. I used to get so angry thinking about them. When I was too young to really understand death, I thought they'd abandoned me. Then after I realized they were still alive, I thought that again. Now I realize everything they did was to protect me. My dad died to save my life. What better way to honor his memory than to live my life as full as I can and maybe save a few along the way?"

"I think that's a great idea."

"You should call Peggy," Aspen said suddenly. "She's the last part of your past that you're holding on to. But the thing is, you don't have to let go. Not completely."

Steve looked surprised. "I wanted to wait until this was over. I can't be thinking about me when you're going through so much."

"That's silly. Seeing you happy is the easiest way to make me happy," she told him. "You don't have to tell her about us right away. I know it's been 67 years since she last saw you, but for you it's still not that long ago."

"She'll love you," Steve told her. "She'll be happy for us."

"I know, but you have a lot to catch up on. I don't want to rush anything, and I would never want to act like I'm more important to you than Peggy." She held up a hand to stop his protest. "Just focus on getting to know her again. If you're ready. It's completely up to you."

"You're amazing, did you know that?" he asked, leaning down to kiss her head. "You see what other people value and value it just as much."

"You taught me that."

"I did?" He looked surprised.

"Your unerring respect and patience has made me realize that even though the world is made up of different people, heroes and villains, good and bad and in between, none of us has the right to disrespect any of them. No one is black and white. Everyone has so many different facets to be considered. Your goodness has inspired me to be a better person. I used to shut the world out because I thought it was out to get me. Now I'm not afraid to meet it head on. I'd built up all these walls, all this armor around me. But on the inside I was terrified. I've started breaking down that armor though. Letting people in. I'm not so afraid that everyone will leave or betray me."

"You know I'd never do that."

"I know that." She smiled up at him. "So we start training in a week. Most agents go through SHIELD's academy, but Fury is putting Clint in charge of our training since we already have a history with fighting and defense. And well, you're Captain America, so that gives you some brownie points right away. He knows I work well with Clint."

"Are you nervous?"

"A little. I keep thinking I can't do this, I can't possibly be as good at fighting as you or Clint or Natasha, but they started somewhere. You started somewhere."

"I did. I started out unable to throw a punch." He smiled at the thought. "Bucky was always getting me out of fights, but he always let me think I had it in hand."

"That's sweet. I wish I could have met him," Aspen said.

"He would have liked you. He would have liked your spirit."

"I've never had a best friend," Aspen realized. "How sad is that? Growing up I just didn't make friends very easily. I had this complex where I thought they'd eventually all ditch me. I found it easier not to get close to people."

"Well you don't have to worry about that now," Steve told her with a smile. "You know I'll always be your friend."

"Til the end of the line. You used to say that to Bucky, didn't you?" she asked.

"How did you know that?" Steve looked surprised.

"You said it to me, or maybe to yourself, when we were in Iceland."

"He used to say it to me," Steve told her, eyes going distant. "Ironic that he fell from a moving train. I didn't realize the end of the line would come so quickly and so literally."

"You still blame yourself, don't you?" she asked softly.

"There had to have been something more I could have done," he said, turning his eyes to her. She could see the hurt in them and regretted bringing it up.

"Sometimes we think that, but in the moment, it's difficult to think quickly. Sometimes we do all we can in that moment even if we think we could have done more." She sighed. "Speaking of doing everything I can do, I should probably go check on my mom." She stood, and Steve walked her to the door.

"Thank you," she said. "For everything. You're the only reason I'm getting through all this."

"You're stronger than you think," Steve said, squeezing her hand before opening the door for her. "Call me if you need anything," he said.

"I will."

…

Aspen hesitated outside of Hannah's apartment. She was still getting used to the idea of having a living grandma though she couldn't quite see Hannah as such. She wasn't the typical affectionate grandmother you might expect. She was SHIELD through and through. She understood Aspen's choice and had told her as much. Aspen reached out a fist and knocked. It took a few moments for Hannah to open the door.

"She's in the kitchen," she said, letting Aspen in.

Aspen went through to the small, well-lit kitchen, taking a seat across from her mom at the antique table. Sunlight was spilling in through the window, shining despite the gloominess Aspen was feeling. Her elation from earlier that day had faded as she forced herself to face reality. She pushed aside her feelings for Steve and focused on her mother.

Ava was staring out the window, one hand wrapped around a mug of tea that had long gone cold. She didn't even look up when Aspen sat down. "I'm flying out to Portland Tuesday," she told Aspen. "Hannah is coming and Violet."

"Mom, I can come if you need me to," Aspen said. She felt a little hurt that her mom hadn't thought to include her. She might not have known Gregor well but he had been her father after all.

"No. You start your training soon. I don't want to keep you from that."

"My family is more important than my training," Aspen told her. "But if you don't want me to come, that's fine." She kept her voice steady. Ava didn't look at her. "Mom?"

"I just don't want you to have to go through with it," Ava said, finally turning to look at her. "Of course I want you there, but sometimes leaving the past behind is easier when you aren't constantly reminded of it."

Aspen blinked. "You don't think I could handle it? Mom, I've been there. I've seen the Sunflower House. I know that past is gone."

"The house is yours now. You can decide what you want to do with it," Ava told her.

"That house is just a memory," Aspen said. "A good one, but I don't need it to remember you and Dad."

"Did I ever tell you the story of how you were named?" Ava asked softly.

"No. At least not since I was too young to remember."

"Your father grew up in Germany – he immigrated here as a young boy, but his earliest memories are of his little cottage in Germany. His parents were poor farmers, but they believed in the value of education. They scraped and saved to send Gregor to school when he was old enough. He traveled to America when he was eight and studied at an all boys' school in New York. When he was younger, his parents had home-schooled him using the bark from the aspen trees that surrounded their cottage for paper. His father made him books, writing down stories and binding them in the aspen bark. It was his fondest memory. He brought the storybook with him to America and every time he read the stories, he thought of home. Eventually he outgrew the stories, but he never stopped reading them. When he graduated, he went to university where we met. He was a student of science, an American citizen by now. He wrote to his parents often but he never went home. Do you know why?" Aspen shook her head. "He was afraid that if he went back home he would never want to leave again. Some of his best memories were there in that little cottage, and he was afraid that he'd never have the courage to go out and find new memories." She gave Aspen a sad smile. "So instead he stayed, he married me, and we formed new happy memories. We named you 'Aspen' in honor of his first happiest memory so that you could be his new happiest memory."

"What happened to his storybook?" Aspen asked softly.

Ava smiled sadly. "We sent it with you the day you left for Arizona with your aunt. She must still have it. I'll ask."

Aspen couldn't find words to respond to the story. Instead she reached across the table and took her mom's hand. "I think I understand," she said finally. "But aren't you afraid you'll never come back?"

"There's nothing for me there anymore," Ava said, taking a shuddering breath. "My happy memories are spent."

"That doesn't mean you can't make more."

"I know, but right now I can't believe I'll ever truly be happy again. I know I will. I found you again. That was one of the happiest moments of my life. I just need some time."

"Take as much as you need. I'll only be a phone call away. SHIELD or not, I will always put family first."

"Sometimes you might not be able to."

Aspen shook her head. "I can do both. I promise."

"You're going to make such an incredible agent. Do you know why?" Ava asked. Aspen shook her head. "Because you know what's important. You haven't lost sight of that. A lot of people in the business forget what it is to love and remember. You want to help people, but you won't risk everything to do your job. You understand sacrifice and making the tough decisions. Sometimes you have to play into an enemy's hands to save a life in the end."

"And sometimes you can't save everyone."

"No, I suppose you can't." Ava squeezed Aspen's hand. "That's a lesson you learned early on. Not an easy one. Thank you for stopping by, Aspen," she said softly, and Aspen nodded. "Thank Steve for coming to the funeral. And Clint. They both care a lot about you."

"Clint's like the brother I never had and Steve…" Aspen paused. She felt guilty for being so happy when she should be mourning.

"You love him?"

Aspen's heart jolted. "I don't know. I've never had someone like him before. I care about him more than I can say, but I'm not ready to put a name to it." The thought frightened her. Was she expected to know just how she felt right away? Did _he_ feel that way about her?

"Relax," Ava said, chuckling softly at the alarm on Aspen's face. "Love comes in many different forms one of them being friendship. Just remember that you don't know how long you have. It could be decades, a hundred years, a week. I never want to forget the last time I told you I love you. I know you're still getting used to this – getting used to _me_, but I always want you to know that."

"I know, Mom. Me too." She stood to leave, sensing that her mom wanted to be alone to think. "Call me and I'll drive you to the airport on Tuesday," she said. "And I think I have an idea for the Sunflower House."


	25. The Start of Something New

**Author's Note: **Well I am back! I had a wonderful trip into Portland to see my best friend. Went to a couple of Powell's bookstores and saw some random ladies walking toy dogs have a cuss out with some homeless guys. Good times.

So...I kind of started reading comics... I think I already mentioned I tried The Winter Soldier on my kindle, well then Walmart had some comics for $5 so I got an Avengers one and I just bought three Cap comics from Hastings cause they were having a 25% off sale... Yeah. Also I bought a Guardians of the Galaxy one on my kindle. Haven't seen the movie yet, but I'm enjoying the comic. I feel so good for having tried something new that I was very, _very_ wary of and finding that I actually enjoy reading them! They're corny in an amusing sort of way. They make me laugh and the stories are intriguing, so hey, why not?

Alright, we've got some more Steve and Aspen awkwardness coming up. Fun stuff. I admit I haven't written in awhile, but I've still got a few chapters on reserve. Between working like crazy and reading and painting and taking photography (my boss let me sell my local shots at the store I work at!), I just haven't had time! But I'm feeling the itch again.

I wanted to say thank you, _thank you_ for your support! _A Game of Trust_ now has OVER 100 favorites! That is a first for any of my stories and makes my life. Amazing! And _A Game of Enemies_ isn't doing too badly either! I came back from Portland and had an inbox full of notifications from fanfic. That made me happy! Hope you are enjoying - thank you so much for reading!

* * *

**22 – The Start of Something New – May 24, 2012**

Steve's hand hovered over his phone, Peggy's file in his other hand. Aspen had left an hour ago and he still hadn't gotten the nerves up to call Peggy. He wasn't sure why he was struggling so much with this. It was a simple call. She'd be thrilled that he was still alive. He'd be thrilled to hear her voice. Why then was it so difficult to dial a number? Maybe it was because Peggy was his last link to his old life. Everyone else was dead. The last thing he had heard before he'd crashed the Valkyrie into the Arctic was Peggy's voice. She'd kissed him before he'd leapt onto the aircraft, and he'd looked down at her picture in the cap of his compass as he'd taken the plane down. He still had the compass. Fury had returned it to him after it had been recovered from the ruins of the Valkyrie and it lay open on the table on top of Bucky's file. Missing in Action that file read. Not dead, but missing. If only it was that simple. Steve shut his eyes for a moment, reliving the worst moment of his life, watching his friend fall. He knew what Aspen would say if she was here. 'Peggy's still alive – call her before you lose everyone from your past. It's a chance in a lifetime, you can't not take it.'

He picked the phone up off the stand and pressed in the numbers. 020-7946-03560. As the phone began to ring, he felt his heart pick up a beat. A voice came on the other line.

"Hello?" Peggy's crisp British accent was just as he remembered if not a little wearier.

"Peggy?"

"Yes. Who is this speaking?"

"It's Steve, Peggy. Steve Rogers. I don't know if they told you I was alive…" he trailed off, waiting for her response.

"Steve?" The hope behind Peggy's voice made his knees weaken. He took the phone over to the couch and sat down.

"Yeah."

"They told me you were alive. I saw the footage from New York. I didn't know how to get in contact with you, but I knew you'd call me when you were ready."

"It took me awhile," he said. "It's taken me awhile to adjust. I'm still adjusting. I'm sorry it took me so long to call."

"I understand. It's so good to hear your voice, Steve," Peggy told him.

"Same here. I thought I'd never hear your voice again," he said. "That was the last thing I heard before I took the plane down in the Arctic. I'm sorry I missed our date."

Peggy laughed, a melodic, wonderful sound that made Steve's heart ache. "I'm sorry too," she said. "We never had our dance."

"How are you? I mean, what happened after that day? Are you doing well?" He hardly knew what to ask. She'd lived a lifetime while he'd been frozen for most of his.

"I'm doing well. I had a good life," she said. "I'm just sorry you missed it."

"I am too. All those years… Everyone else is gone. I just…I feel alone sometimes. Well, I miss the past."

"It's not fair what happened, but it's a gift that you're alive. You have a second chance to have a life. You can make it a good one even if it's not the one you thought you'd have."

"Did you ever get married? Have kids?" Steve hoped he wasn't prying, but he wanted to know that Peggy had had her life. He wanted to fill in the blank pages and know that she was happy.

"I did. He was one of the men you saved in the 107th Infantry. You made that possible. We had two children. He passed away several years ago, but I have had a happy life."

"I'm sorry he's gone, but I'm so happy to hear that you have had a good life."

"What about you, Steve? How are you doing in the 21st century?"

Steve hesitated. "Well, I met someone…" He hadn't been planning on telling Peggy about Aspen just yet, but he felt a pride just thinking about Aspen. He knew Peggy would like her.

"How wonderful! What's her name and how did you meet?" Peggy sounded delighted, and Steve relaxed.

"Aspen. She was assigned to help me adjust to the 21st century. She was more than just an agent though, she was a friend. We've been through a lot together."

"I'm happy for you, Steve."

"I'm sorry that we never got a chance," he said softly. "But it sounds like we both got a second chance."

"Sometimes we have to move forward. There's no going back. You've got a lifetime ahead of you to discover what else is out there. I'm just so glad you won't be alone."

"Me too. I was so lucky that I never did have to be alone. I still feel lonely sometimes. It's just difficult to keep moving forward when part of me is still stuck in the past. It will just take time. To everyone else it's been 67 years. To me it's still only been a few months. It takes longer that that to move on."

"Of course it does. I can't even imagine what you're going through."

"I'm going to work for SHIELD. I'm going to start training with Aspen soon. I want to help people. That's what I'm meant for."

"Saving the world once wasn't enough?" He could hear the teasing in Peggy's voice.

"I guess not."

"I suppose it's twice now."

"I had some help the second time. And the first. I wouldn't have gotten far without you."

"Always so modest. You've never lost that even after all you've done and been through."

They talked for over an hour, Peggy filling in the details of her life, telling him about her children and their achievements. In turn Steve told her about adjusting to the 21st century and his adventures with Aspen. Finally he gave Peggy his number and they promised to keep in touch. "It was so good to hear from you, Steve," she said.

"You too."

"This lifetime needs someone like you to keep it in line."

"I hope I'm up for the job."

After he hung up, Steve felt a mixture of relief and happiness and sorrow. It was both wonderful hearing Peggy's voice again, knowing she'd had a good life, and sad knowing that he'd missed it. What she'd said resonated with him though. _Sometimes we have to move forward. There's no going back. You've got a lifetime ahead of you to discover what else is out there._ He had been given a second chance, and his future was laid out before him waiting for him to take charge. He set the phone back in its cradle and gathered up the files, putting them in a desk drawer. He glanced at his compass before shutting it and adding it to the drawer. Moving on didn't mean he had to forget the past, but he wouldn't let it hold him back.

…

Aspen set her keys down in her apartment, suddenly aware of how silent and empty it was. Her eyes flitted to the picture of her with her parents standing in front of the Sunflower House and then to the drawing Steve had done for her. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes, and she hastily wiped them away. There was nothing for her here, she realized. The only place she wanted to be right now was with Steve. She hastily piled clothes into her bag and shut off the lights before driving to his apartment. When she reached the door she knocked after a second's hesitation. She felt like she was being needy. Intruding when they were both still getting used to the idea of 'them.'

Steve opened the door a moment later, worry furrowing his brow. "Are you alright?" he asked, standing aside to let her in.

"I just didn't want to be alone," she said. "That apartment feels so empty. I was hoping I could stay here for awhile? I can sleep on the couch. And you can tell me if you aren't alright with this. I won't be offended" She bit her lip, realizing she was rambling.

Steve's mouth lifted in a smile. "Of course I don't mind," he said. "And you don't have to sleep on the couch. You can have the bed."

"I went to see my mom. She's going to Portland on Tuesday with Hannah and my Aunt Vi. She didn't want me to come because she thought I'd get too caught up in the past and not want to come back. She told me this story about how I got my name and how my dad grew up in Germany… I don't know. It's like first she wants me to move back with her and now she's pushing me away. She thinks she's trying to help me, but I feel like I'm losing her again." Aspen felt Steve put a hand on her arm and realized her vision had gone blurry.

"I'm sure that's not true. She wouldn't let that happen. Not after she found you again."

"I think she feels like the best way to protect me is to keep her distance and not let me anywhere near my past. She's made so many mistakes before when she was trying to protect me… But I don't need to be protected anymore. I can take care of myself. I've been doing it for a long time. I was more than willing to let her in, but now she seems to be scrambling to find an exit."

Steve pulled her into the circle of his arms, pressing her head to his chest. She gripped her arms around his back, holding onto him like an anchor. "I feel unlovable which is childish and selfish, but I just needed to get that off my chest," she said, her voice muffled as she spoke into his shirt. The cotton smelled fresh as if it'd just come out of the dryer, and she breathed it in.

"That's not true at all," he told her, tightening his grip around her. She let herself be comforted by his voice and his warmth, trying hard not to cry. She felt exhausted, and her legs wobbled for a moment. Steve kept her steady.

"Do you want to lie down?" he asked. "You've had a rough few weeks. I know you haven't been sleeping well."

"That haggard?" she asked with a smile.

He gave her a small smile in response. "Let's just say I know the feeling."

They settled on the couch, Aspen on one end, her legs across Steve's, head against the arm. She watched him, seeing the tiny edge to his eyes, the bit of tenseness to his shoulders. She knew he wasn't entirely comfortable with being around her in this new sense yet. It would take some getting used to for both of them but right now she just wanted to be close to him. She reached out to take his hand, resting their entwined fingers on her knee. Her eyes began to close.

"I called Peggy," Steve told her. Her eyes flashed open.

"You did?" she asked excitedly. "What did she say?"

"She was happy to hear from me." He sounded as if he had doubted that this was possible.

"Of course she was!" Aspen rolled her eyes, giving him a smile to let him know she was teasing.

"She's happy. She had a good live – _has_ a good life. She married and had kids. Her husband passed away, but I could hear how happy she was in her voice. She's lived her life to the fullest. She told me I had a second chance and that I should take it."

"Sound advice."

"And I told her about you."

Aspen looked at him in surprise. "And?" She felt a stab of nerves that surprised her. Like she needed Peggy's approval. In a way, she felt like she did.

"She was really happy that we met. She says you sound like a wonderful person."

Aspen's cheeks flushed with pleasure. "Really?"

Steve nodded. "She said we were lucky to find each other."

"We were."

"We're going to stay in touch. It was really good to hear her voice – hard, but good."

"It's a good step toward recovery," Aspen said. "Just because you're moving on from your past doesn't mean you have to forget it. Why are our lives so complicated?" she added with a sigh.

"Somehow I feel like they're about to get even more complicated."

"At least we're in it together."

"That is a consolation." Aspen closed her eyes. She felt Steve relax next to her and must have dozed off soon later because he was waking her gently, and it was dark outside.

"Do you want to just go to bed?" he asked her. "You've had a long day."

"What time is it?"

"Seven-thirty. Are you hungry?"

Aspen realized she was. "We should just order pizza or something."

He stared at her for a moment. "Order from where?" he finally asked, brow furrowed.

"Oh, right. I forgot you didn't have pizza delivery back then. You call the restaurant, order what you want, and someone comes and delivers it to the door."

"That's handy."

"Yeah it is." She shook off her weariness and looked up a pizza place nearby. "Have you ever even had pizza?"

"I had a slice for lunch one afternoon," he said.

"Do you like pepperoni and sausage and black olives?" she asked. "I don't like any other vegetables, but we can get half and half."

"I'm fine with anything," he told her.

"So easy." She smiled and placed the order online. "The thing about today is that you can do everything online, even order pizza and pay." She pulled out her debit card. Steve watched as she paid for the order and even added in the tip.

"That's pretty incredible," he said. "I'm still getting used to how everything is so technology based."

"Sometimes I think old-fashioned is better. You just had a different set of values. People respected each other more. Everything today is so fast and done without thinking. Technology has made it easier to hate and bully and keep an anonymous identity. The bullies can hide behind words typed into phones or on the internet. It's not a fair fight. People are so wrapped up in their technology that they forget to actually talk to people face-to-face. Only traditional families sit down for dinner and have deep conversations. I think I would have liked the 1930s and 40s."

"Well if I ever find a way to go back, I'll bring you along."

Aspen smiled at the thought. "What if I had been born in 1920?" she asked. "Do you think we would have found each other?"

"I hope so. I'm not sure the 1930s could have handled your spunk. You'd have been one of the girls wearing pants and trying to join the Army."

Aspen laughed. "Probably. I wonder what I would have been like. What I would have done… I think I would have joined the war somehow. I would have wanted to help."

"I could see you as a nurse."

"Not a showgirl?"

Steve looked bashful. "You know about all that, huh?"

Aspen grinned at him. "After New York I did my research. I wanted to know what I'd been missing since I seemed to be the only person who _didn't_ know who you were my whole life. I saw some of the black and white reels from the shows you did. I hadn't realized selling bonds could be so…musical."

"It wasn't ideal."

"Ah, but you did it so well!"

"Okay, I take it back, I could see you as a nosey woman-reporter," he said, giving her knee a playful shove.

"Actually that sounds like a cool job. I could see me in the pantsuit and fedora tipped over my left eye getting the scoop."

A knock on the door interrupted their thoughts and they both stood. Aspen went to the door while Steve hovered back, clearly not wanting to risk being identified. After Aspen shut the door, she set the pizza box on the counter and got out plates, forks, and napkins. Three slices in, she realized just how starving she had been. She hadn't eaten much since Iceland and had grown a little gaunter. She knew she needed to keep up her strength for training, but somehow she couldn't quite see the end of this sadness she felt. She had realized that morning that it wasn't ever going to go away completely. It was another scar she would bear like the one on her cheek.

"If you want to shower, the bathroom's yours. I'll clean up here," Steve said when they had finished.

"Thanks." Aspen felt as if she had dirt from the cemetery under her fingernails that wouldn't come out no matter how hard she scrubbed. She stood under the hot water for a long while, waiting until she felt clean. Clad in her plaid PJ bottoms and cotton shirt, she joined Steve back in the living room. When he went to shower, she pulled out her phone, noticing that she had a text from Clint. She scanned the words. _We need to talk. Meet me tomorrow at our place. Noon. Clint_

She wondered if he was finally going to tell her about his brother. He hadn't said a word about him since they'd first seen him rise from the ashes like a phoenix. She was dying to know more about him, but she wasn't going to push Clint. He would tell her when he was ready. She knew that as an agent he kept his personal life and past to himself. He shouldn't have to bear this burden alone though. Not when she could help.

She replied quickly. _Of course. I'll see you then. Also, thank you for coming to the funeral today. It meant a lot to me, and my mom as well. Aspen_

Her phone buzzed a second later. _I've got your back, Pen_.

She smiled and tucked her phone away. She heard the water shut off and a moment later Steve walked into the room, blonde hair damp, grey T-shirt sticking a little to his torso. She tore her eyes away from his muscles. She was _not_ one of those girls. It just always threw her off when she realized just how perfect he was. If she didn't know him, she might have rolled her eyes, brushed him off, but he was so much more than his muscles. The way his small, hesitant smile lit up his blue eyes when he looked at her made her heart surge a little.

"I think I'll head to bed," she said, standing. She hesitated. "If you wanted – I mean, if it's not too…forward. Er…" she struggled for the words, cheeks growing red. "I don't mind if we share," she finally got out. "I mean, the bed is big enough for both of us. I don't mind. I hate to make you sleep on the couch in your own apartment." She looked down at the floor.

Steve was silent for a moment. "I don't mind," he finally said. "I know things are…different today."

"I don't mind being old-fashioned. I just think we'd both be more comfortable this way," Aspen said. They both hovered in the doorway until Aspen entered the bedroom. They lay down on their respective sides, Aspen feeling suddenly nervous. She inwardly laughed at herself when she realized why: she was terrified of overstepping boundaries. Steve had grown up in a time where this would have been highly unacceptable to respectable people. But it wasn't as if they hadn't slept next to each other before. She rolled over so she was facing Steve. He was lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling.

"If I have a nightmare and wake you up, will you wake me?" Aspen asked.

He turned his blue eyes on her. "Have you been having nightmares?"

Aspen nodded. "Ever since Iceland. Every night."

"Of course," Steve told her. "Of course I will."

Aspen smiled, closing her eyes and curling up closer to Steve. He kept his distance, but reached out a hand to take hers. As their fingers entwined, Aspen felt her smile grow. She wished she could always feel this safe.


	26. Trickshot

**Author's Note: **Thank you so much for the favorites and follows and reviews I've been getting! I'm just getting so many great ideas to continue this series and to work on challenging the characters and pushing them further. So I sat down and planned out where I want to go with my Avengers series. Not just this one but what other projects I want to take on. I do have a title for the third in my series which I will be telling you a little further along. (I even photoshopped the cover photo already like an overzealous dweeb). Look for that one to happen this winter (or possibly sooner because I can't ever seem to stop writing these stories). In the mean time I'm going to be writing a collection of shorts that just kind of go through some of the things that happen between this story and the next. I might have already said all this before. I forget. I'll try to finish up my 1940s story soon. Like I said, it's turning out way longer than I meant it to, but that can happen. And it's not really a bad thing. I've also been dying to write a Loki fan fiction. The chemistry between him and Aspen is undeniable (I think anyway) but I obviously want this to be a Steve story. But I think Loki needs his own story. I'm not sure yet if I'll tie his story into this universe. I'd like to, but I'm not sure how that would work. We'll see. I also have an idea for more in the future dealing with Steve and an OC who is an assassin. Totally unrelated to this story. I was just thinking, what would be the oddest pair up for him and how could I make that work. Steve and Aspen get along so well (although I have plans to stir that up a little). I want to see some conflict and frustration and breakthroughs. So yeah. Wow. And somewhere in there I'm going to finish my books.

I got so busy this summer working that I never had enough time to really sit down and focus on my books which require a lot more plotting. And though I do edit and rewrite my fanfics, I definitely pour a lot more time and effort into my books. So that's going to be a fall project, and I am going to try to cut back a little on my fanfic writing, but I don't want to stop. I can't stop. Especially once The Winter Soldier comes out on DVD. I get this undeniable need to write in my Avengers series.

I am done writing Part Three of this story, so I'll post the rest more quickly. Then onto Part Four! Exciting things are afoot! It's turning out way longer than _A Game of Trust_ even. I didn't expect that. I love when the story just sort of unfolds as you write.

Alright, I need to stop writing and go to sleep. How did it get to be past midnight already? Enjoy!

* * *

**23 – Trickshot – May 25, 2012**

When Aspen woke up, she forgot for a moment where she was, starting at the warm body next to her. Steve was still asleep, his blonde hair messy, face peaceful. She relaxed, watching as his thick lashes fluttered ever so slightly in sleep. She'd been so tired that she'd slept through the night and couldn't remember any dreams if she'd had any. In that moment she realized that no one was trying to kill her right now. No one was after the formula. They were safe for the moment, and she could finally relax. It felt wrong to feel so happy, but she knew he father would be glad that she could finally live without fear of their mistakes catching up to her. She promised herself she was going to have a normal morning because she couldn't remember the last time she'd had one.

Getting up carefully so as not to wake Steve, Aspen went into the kitchen and started the coffee pot, measuring out the water and coffee grounds. Soon the aroma filled the kitchen. She set two mugs on the counter. The floor creaked, and she turned to find Steve entering the room, brushing his hair down flat. His blue eyes were bright when he saw her. Aspen suddenly didn't know how to act. Then it occurred to her that this was the same Steve. She had no reason to act shy around him. He seemed to be feeling the same way though because he hovered awkwardly a few feet away. Aspen motioned to the coffee.

"I made coffee," she said unnecessarily. She inwardly winced. If she commented on the weather next, they really were doomed. They watched each other almost cautiously for a moment, and then both began to speak at the same time.

Aspen laughed nervously. "I think we need some practice at this," she said.

Steve winced. "I have to confess, I have basically no experience with relationships."

"Me neither. I never really dated in high school. Maybe we're overthinking this. How did people date in the 30s and 40s?"

"Well, usually the guy asked the girl out for a picture or a dance."

"A picture? Like a movie?" Aspen asked with a grin. She loved it when Steve spoke like he was still from the 40s.

He blushed, looking bashful. "Yeah. Sometimes, if the date went really well, they'd go to get sodas."

"'They'? Not 'you'?"

"Not me… Girls tended to overlook me. Last double date I went on was with Bucky. That was the night I met Doctor Erskine. I went off to try to enlist…again, and Bucky went dancing with the girls."

"I wouldn't have overlooked you," Aspen told him.

"I know you wouldn't. You have a way of seeing things no one else does. So how does it work today?"

"Honestly, a first date might be a movie and dinner, but most people take it much faster than that." At Steve's worried frown, she added, "But I'm not most people. I just want to spend time with you. Whatever feels right. We can go see a movie and get soda. We can go dancing."

Steve's lips turned up in a smile. "Let's just see what feels right, like you said."

Aspen took a step forward and then another before sliding her arms around him. He watched her with a careful expression on his face as she looked up at him. "If I'm making you uncomfortable-" she started.

"Aspen, being near you is the most comfortable thing I can think of," he cut her off, eyes sincere. He brushed a hand over her face. The bruises had healed over the last week, but she could still sense his hesitation around her. She leaned up and brushed her lips over his, waiting for a response. After a second he kissed her back, slowly and carefully, one hand cupping her face, the other lightly on her waist. Aspen kissed him harder, not wanting the moment to end. His grip on her waist tightened, and she twisted the back of his shirt in her fists. A second later she broke away, reminding herself that she needed to take this slowly. She didn't want to push him out of his comfort zone.

"Sorry," she said with an embarrassed smile.

"For what?" he asked a little breathlessly.

Aspen put a hand on his chest and could feel his heart beating quickly under his grey T-shirt. He brushed his hand down her neck, pushing her hair off her shoulder. "I'm not sure," she said, mind feeling numb. He leaned down and kissed her again, and she tanged her fingers in his hair at the nape of his neck. For how strong he was, he was exceedingly gentle as if he was afraid of breaking her. Aspen held herself back and kissed him softly. When they broke apart again, both their cheeks were flushed. Aspen gave a nervous laugh.

"Right, coffee. Did you want some?" she asked.

Steve chuckled. "Sure." He let go of her, and she regretfully moved away, her heart fluttering. She poured two mugs of coffee, and they sat down at the kitchen table, watching the traffic move on the streets down below.

"What do you think we'll be doing on missions?" Aspen asked.

"I'm not sure. I'm not saying it will be easy, but after New York…"

"I know what you mean," Aspen told him. "After an alien attack and a psychotic demi-god, what could be worse?" She winced at her description of Loki. "I'm kind of nervous," she admitted.

"Me too."

Aspen looked at him. "Really?"

"What, Captain America isn't allowed to get nervous?" he asked with a teasing grin.

"Well, of course you are, it's just…you're a Super Soldier. You are like the perfect human specimen with optimized agility and strength. You can take more of a beating than me." She winced, reminded of him beating her up while he was under the control of the Warlock's Eye. He seemed to be thinking of that too because he looked away. "I just mean, you're stronger. And you've already been through war before."

"So have you," he told her, looking her in the eye. "The battle for New York was as close to a war as I've seen in this lifetime. And you're strong too. Not all strength is physical."

"You do realize you are going to far exceed me in training? But I'll be trying my hardest to keep up."

"I'll slow down for you."

She realized he was joking. "Gee, thanks." He gave her a crooked smile. "When I was trained at ARTIFACT, I was basically pushed to my physical limit every day for a year. And my mental limit. They didn't put newbies in the field. We had to be ready. I hope some of those skills can transfer over and be used for good rather than smuggling operations."

"I have a feeling we're going to make a good team," Steve told her. "I hope Clint doesn't mind too much. Don't you usually do missions with him?"

"I used to before I lost my nerve and then got demoted after keeping a certain demi-god Trickster in my apartment for the better part of Christmas… So yeah… He'll just have to share. Speaking of which…" She glanced at the clock. "I'm meeting him at noon to talk. I should probably eat breakfast and get dressed."

"Back in Iceland…before we got on the quinjet… He saw something, didn't he?" Steve asked. "Something that unsettled him."

Aspen was silent for a moment. "He did…"

"But it's something between you and him." There was no jealousy in his tone, just acceptance.

"Let me get back to you on it, okay?" she asked. "He's taken a lot time to open up to me, but I think he's about to. I need to respect that trust. Not that I don't trust you, of course. He's just used to watching his back. He keeps his past to himself."

"I understand. Just be careful."

"Around Clint?"

"Just in general."

"I will be," she promised him.

…

Clint was sitting with his head back, sunglasses shielding his eyes. Aspen sat next to him, waiting for him to speak first. His shoulders were tense under his T-shirt, and his short hair was sticking out in all directions as if he hadn't bothered to get it trimmed in the last few months.

"How are you holding up?" he asked her, taking off his sunglasses and looking at her with his keen blue eyes.

"I'm holding up. It gets a little easier every day to see that it's going to be alright. That life is going to keep going. I keep having to remind myself that I don't have to look over my shoulder constantly anymore."

"How's your mom?"

"Having trouble finding any hope for the future. I don't know how to make her see that there is always something to keep us going. I had hoped it would be me, but maybe I can't fill in that gap."

"That's not true, Pen. Don't slight your worth to her. She just doesn't know how to cope or how to be a mom to you now that you've grown up and learned how to take care of yourself."

"I hope you're right." They sat in silence for a minute until Aspen spoke again. "You wanted to tell me something. What's going on, Clint?"

Clint let out a long breath. "I want to tell you about my brother. The whole story if you'll hear it."

"Of course I will."

"When I was a kid, my dad drank a lot. My brother Barney and I ended up on the receiving end of his drunken rages pretty frequently. Eventually my dad's drinking got him and my mom killed in a car accident. Barney and I were sent to a children's home. That didn't seem to suit us so we, ah, ran away to the circus when I was thirteen."

"You joined a circus?" Aspen asked.

"Yeah. I trained with a man called Trickshot at the circus. He taught me archery. Another man called the Swordsman trained me with knives and blades. I became a sort of protégé for them. Barney didn't want any part of that. He said that they were using me, and I got mad. It was the first time I'd felt like I belonged, like I was good at something. I was always so eager to please them. Probably because it'd always been impossible to please my own dad. Barney tried to encourage me to go back to school, get an education, have _something_ other than circus skills to rely on. He was tired of our life and wanted something normal. I was obsessed with improving my archery skills though. I refused, and he told me he had his own life to live. He decided to join the Army and asked me to join him. Like the thick-skulled kid I was, I refused. He asked me to meet him by the bus to say goodbye the day he left. I wasn't going to, but then I changed my mind. I missed the bus though. I didn't get the chance to say goodbye to him. Barney joined the Army, and I used my skills for a different purpose. I worked as a mercenary but after while I wanted to get out. I got on SHIELD's radar, and they recruited me. They turned my life around and showed me that I could use my skills for a good purpose.

"That was the last I saw of him until the year I turned twenty-three. I'd been with the circus for a long time by then and had been working jobs with Trickshot. Jobs that were not really on the up and up. We were working a job at this mansion owned by a man named Marko – just as shady as Trickshot. Trickshot needed something or at least the guy he was working for needed it. I never found out who he was working for, but someone else was calling the shots. I went with him. It was supposed to be an easy job. Get in, steal the object, get out. We didn't realize this guy had hired someone as a bodyguard. Trickshot told me to shoot him. The guy hadn't seen us yet, had his back to us. I shot just as he turned around. My arrow didn't hit his heart, but it was still damaging. He fell to the ground, and we went over to see if he was dead. That's when I recognized him." Clint shut his eyes, silent for a moment. Aspen didn't speak.

"It was my brother, Pen. I had shot my brother down working for Trickshot robbing some guy. Something clicked then, and I realized that I was ruining my life working for these people. I'd just shot my own brother. I confronted Trickshot then. Said I was tired of this life, tired of being his tool. Family came first, and I'd forgotten that rule for far too long. He left me with my brother while he went to finish the job. He gave me quite the bruise beforehand, trying to knock some sense in me. Until then I had looked up to him, but after that I realized he was just another bully like my dad. I knew I needed to get out. I tried to drag Barney with me. He was still alive. I'm not sure if he recognized me or not. Trickshot came back though and saw what I was doing. He beat me to a pulp. I tried to fight back, but I didn't stand a chance. He left both me and Barney for dead. When I woke up Barney was gone and the cops were coming. I could hear the sirens so I ran. Not long after SHIELD caught up to me and offered me a chance to turn my life around. I took it. I thought Barney was dead. I tried looking for him, but the trail ended. I had no idea he was still alive. I just left him…"

"It wasn't your fault. You didn't know."

"I should have. He tried to warn me. Turns out his instincts were a lot better than mine."

"So why didn't he recognize you in Iceland? And why was he dressed kind of like you? Like an archer anyway."

"I've heard rumors that Trickshot is still out there, but other sources told me he died of some illness. He could have been replaced."

"You think they took Barney and turned him into the new Trickshot?"

Clint shrugged. "It sounds far-fetched."

"But in this job…"

"Anything is possible. His suit just reminded me of my old mentor. But I know that was Barney. I'd know him anywhere. He just looked at me like he didn't know me though. Looked straight through me."

"Like he'd been brainwashed maybe."

"It's possible. But why would they do that?"

"I don't know. To get back at you for leaving? Do people really get revenge like that?"

Clint laughed hollowly. "Some people do."

"So what do you want to do?" Aspen asked him.

"What _can_ I do?"

"Keep looking. Look into Trickshot. Incidents relating to him going back to the original one. See if you can find any patterns, any changes that might indicate someone else took over his role. There's got to be something. Even I found a trail that led me to my parents when I thought everything was a dead end."

"Yeah… If Fury will let me off for awhile to look at this."

"You haven't told him any of this?"

"Only you."

Aspen felt a surge of gratitude that he'd confide in her first. "Thank you for telling me," she told him. "I'll do anything I can to help."

"You've got training," Clint reminded her.

"Yeah, but you're top priority here. Family first, right? Besides you're the one training me."

Clint smiled. "Sure you're going to have time for me now that you've got that Super Soldier?" Aspen blushed, and Clint's smile widened. "Something happened, didn't it?"

"What are we high school girls now?"

"I'm just curious. Looking out for my girl."

"Fine, we're together I guess. Whatever you want to call it."

"That's great, Pen. He's a lucky man."

"I'm a lucky girl. He's the most respectful, kind, just all around good person I know. I need more people in my life like that. I've had too many people abuse my trust. He would never do that."

"And if he does, I will personally-"

"Clint, do not threaten beat up Captain America. He is not going to hurt me. And I'm pretty sure you wouldn't stand a chance against him anyway."

"Oh yeah?" He pushed her playfully. "It feels good to joke around like this. I've been beating myself up ever since I saw Barney. I feel responsible for whatever happened to him."

"Don't play that blame game with yourself. I've done it far too many times, and it really doesn't help anything."

"Yeah, you're right."

"Where do we start? I assume SHIELD has access to all that information. I don't have access to it though."

"I can access it. Trace Trickshot. Trace my brother. His Army records, where he went afterwards."

"I'll help in any way I can."

"Thank you," Clint said, looking over at her. "I just want to find my brother. If he can forgive me for abandoning him…"

"Let's just start with finding him."

"I'll let you know what I find." Clint hesitated as if he wanted to say more. "I just keep thinking…what if he doesn't want to be found?"

"I know he'd want to find you again. We just don't know what's happened to him in all these years. Anything could have happened."

They fell silent for a moment. "I've got to go to headquarters. Fury's sending me on a short mission," Clint finally said.

"Let me know when you find anything out. I'll do some searching on my own and see if I can find anything. Maybe Steve would have some pull with the Army – I mean, if it's okay to involve him. I understand if you want to keep this between us."

"No, it's fine. Steve's a good guy. And you're right. He might have some pull. Just be careful, Pen. We don't know who we're dealing with. Someone could be pulling my brother's strings."

"You don't know who the original Trickshot was working for though?" Clint shook his head. "That can't be his real name. Do you know his real name?"

Clint shook his head. "He never went by his real name. But I can find out. Once I left that past behind, I never looked back." He stood, and Aspen stood as well.

"I'll see you in a week," Clint told her. "I'll be assessing both your skills to figure out your training. We can fill each other in on what we learn."

"Sounds good. Be careful on your mission," she told him with a frown.

"I always am." He gave her a smile before pushing his shades back over his eyes and getting in his car.

Aspen stood for awhile longer replaying what Clint had told her over in her mind before getting into her Audi and driving back to Steve's apartment.


	27. Training

**24 – Training – May 31, 2012**

In a week Aspen had only run into dead ends in her investigation into Clint's brother. She had no access to SHIELD intel, her clearance level still level one (Fury had not yet raised it to level four). She'd told Steve the story and asked for his help, but though he'd had some success with the Army, they had only been able to tell him that he'd joined the FBI after leaving the Army. There his sway ended, and they reached another dead end. Aspen sent the information onto Clint who had been silent for a week, still engrossed in his mission, hoping that someone at SHIELD could inquire deeper into this.

The evening before they started training, Steve called Aspen to ask her on a date. She'd moved back into her own apartment not wanting to invade Steve's space any longer though he told her she was welcome to stay as long as she liked. She didn't want to be needy though and was still getting used to the idea of having someone like him around.

"You want to take me on a date?" Aspen asked over the phone.

"Yeah, we haven't really had the time and we're about to get really busy with training, so I figured tonight might be our last chance for awhile."

"Sure. What did you have in mind?"

"It's kind of a surprise."

"I don't typically trust surprises, but I trust you," she said with a smile.

"I'll pick you up at five," he told her.

She hung up with a grin plastered on her face and wandered into her bedroom to find something appropriate to wear. At five she was dressed in a navy blue sundress, her hair done up in a bun atop her head. Steve pulled up promptly at five in a car SHIELD had given him to use. Aspen smiled at him as he got out to greet her.

"You look beautiful," he told her.

"Thank you." He opened the door for her, and she slid in. He was dressed in tan slacks and a dark blue button up shirt under his leather jacket. "So where are we going?" she asked.

"You'll see," was all he would say.

She watched the streets go by, curious as to where they were going. Steve was usual so straightforward, but tonight he seemed intent on surprising her. Finally he pulled in front of a well-lit art gallery. They got out, and Aspen looked up at the windows in awe. It was a photography gallery with an entire collection of incredible black and white shots of the city streets and buildings. There seemed to be a sort of gala going on because when they entered, a crowd of well-dressed people were lingering around with flutes of champagne. Steve handed two tickets to a man at the door.

"I thought you might like to look at the photos," Steve told her.

"They're incredible!" She stood in the middle of the room, trying to take them all in.

"I'm glad you like it." He seemed nervous as if he'd been afraid she wouldn't like it.

"Of course I do. Thank you!" She reached up and kissed him on the cheek before taking his hand and pulling him over to the wall to get a closer look. "I sometimes wish I had more time for normal things like this." She motioned to the photos. "Hobbies." She laughed. "Who has time for those?"

"Do you regret not going forward with school?" Steve asked. "You could have studied something different. Photography perhaps."

"I did think about it but what I want to do doesn't require a degree. A normal life just sort of seems like a lie. I don't want to pretend I'm someone I'm not. And I don't trust people anymore. I looked up to Professor Stew and look how that turned out."

"The chances of that happening again are pretty low," he assured her.

"Are they? I've been marked since a child because of my parents' work. It wasn't all a coincidence. At least at SHIELD I'm with people like me."

"Do you trust everyone at SHIELD?" Steve asked, lowering his voice so that no one else in the gallery could overhear them.

"No. I don't trust people who I haven't seen saving peoples' lives," she said.

"So only heroes?" he joked.

"Only people who don't have hidden agendas."

"Over half of SHIELD probably has hidden agendas."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

"Then how do we know they're saving people?" Steve asked.

"We don't. We just have to trust that we'll make the right choices."

"You know, this was supposed to be a fun way of not thinking about work," Steve said with a grimace.

"Sorry."

"It's okay." He smiled and squeezed her hand.

They walked the rest of the gallery in silence, Aspen trying to focus on having fun. She finally managed to relax for the first time since her mom had left for Portland. She still wasn't back but she'd called to tell Aspen that they were fine, just putting things in order. Part of Aspen wished she had gone with them, but she realized she'd already made her choice. She'd joined SHIELD as a full time agent, and she would have to make sacrifices. This was the first of many.

After the gallery, Steve took her to a nice restaurant that overlooked the city lights. From here the lingering destruction could not be seen.

"It's beautiful like this," Aspen said after they had ordered their food. "From a distance. You can watch the chaos without being a part of it. I wonder if that's how the people watching felt – during the battle. Watching the chaos down below while they looked on."

"I'm sure they were scared."

"Were you?" She looked over at him.

"Of course. It was an entirely unexpected and new experience. Half the time I was afraid I was going to send someone to their death."

"You're a better leader than you give yourself credit for. Didn't you notice how everyone just fell in line and followed your orders? Even Tony."

"Just doing what needed to be done. I would have taken orders just as gladly."

Aspen smiled at his humility. "I was terrified," she said. "I kept thinking, there's no way I'm going to survive this. But somehow I also felt like I couldn't die. Like Loki wouldn't really let that happen. I'm not sure if that's true or not, but it kept me going."

"I think sometimes we think it's not possible to die no matter what the danger. A lot of soldiers feel that way on the battlefield. They have this mentality that they can't possibly die. When they do get hurt or see someone die, it wakes them up to that reality that yes, they can die."

"I can't even imagine. Well, I guess I can. But what we were dealing with though, it was supernatural. On the battlefield during World War II, it was humans fighting humans. There's something more frightening about that. Monsters you expect to attack you, but humans… Some might argue that people can be monsters, but I don't think that's in their nature. It's the fear and the instincts that take over in situations like that. It's the leaders who send their people into battle with their heads filled with crazy ideas that don't make sense but sound really good out loud. Maybe they think they're invincible as long as they've got a cause to fight for. Doesn't matter so much if it's a cause worth fighting for as long as they're told it is."

"I hope we're fighting for the right cause," Steve said. "I don't mind following orders if it's for the right cause, if I'm doing good. But I don't ever want to do something just because someone tells me it's a good idea."

"Wow, this is a really uplifting conversation," Aspen said with a laugh.

Steve shook his head, smiling. "Maybe we need to practice having normal conversations."

The arrival of their food waived further conversation while they ate. "This shrimp is quite good. How is the quiche?" Aspen asked with a sly smile. They talked about equally menial things, turning it into a sort of contest to see who could come up with the most normal thing to talk about. Finally they had exhausted all topics, and the conversation traveled back to work.

"Have you heard from Clint lately?" Steve asked her.

"No. He's still on his mission. I haven't heard a word." She wasn't worried. He could be silent for months at a time, but she knew he was just caught up in a mission. "I was hoping he'd learned something more about his brother. We don't have the clearance to find anything through SHIELD. Not yet anyway."

"Well, with the FBI being tight mouthed, I'm not sure how much further we can get on our own."

"Not far. I tried tracking down the circus Clint traveled with. He said it was called the Carson Carnival of Traveling Wonder. It disbanded in the 90s due to dangerous equipment and shady carnies."

"Sounds about right."

"Clint said that the man they tried to rob back when he shot Barney was called Marko, but his trail ended even sooner. Apparently someone shot him shortly after that episode. I've hit a wall."

"Do we have any idea of the true identities of the Swordsman and the original Trickshot?" Steve asked.

Aspen shook her head. "SHIELD most likely has that intel, but until Clint has time to look it up or we get clearance to access it, that's not going to be the solution." She sighed. "I keep thinking about Clint shooting his brother. He's lived his life thinking that he killed him, and yet he's still out there fighting for SHIELD. He's an Avenger and one of SHIELD's top spies. I think about shooting Danners and how I fell apart, lost my confidence. I'm afraid that I'll be tested beyond my own abilities and my own comfort zone as a SHIELD agent. I'm afraid I won't be able to pull the trigger where it really matters or that if I do, I'll turn into a completely different person. I guess I just don't know what to expect. And I don't know my own limitations yet."

"You're not going to turn into a different person," he assured her. "You can still retain your humanity and do the job."

"How do you know that?"

"I took a lot of lives during the war…did a lot of things that made it hard to sleep at night sometimes, but I've still got my humanity. I still care, and it still affects me when I see people getting hurt. I never gave that up, and neither will you."

"I just wish I had your confidence." She smiled. "I don't want to be afraid anymore."

"Just because I'm confident doesn't mean I'm not nervous too. I don't know what to expect. Like you, I don't want my comfort zones to be pushed too far. I sometimes feel like people are going to use me because of my abilities, but I don't want to be treated differently from anyone else."

"You do know there's always going to be someone in awe of you, right?" Aspen asked him.

"That's not quite what I meant," he said, blushing. "You know how I feel about the whole 'hero worship' thing."

"Well don't worry about the girls. I'll fend them off," Aspen said with a grin. Steve squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. "I'm joking. I mean, I will fend them off, but you don't have to worry. I doubt we'll be spending much time in the public eye any time soon."

They finished their dinner, and Steve paid. Aspen explained tipping to him and showed him how to calculate it on his phone. "The tip would have covered the entire meal in my time," he said as they left the restaurant.

"Thank you," Aspen told him. "I had a lovely time." She allowed Steve to help her into her coat and smiled when he slipped his hand into hers automatically. "I kind of wish this night would never end," she said, looking up at the stars that had sprung out while they had been in the restaurant. "Tomorrow marks the day I begin my life yet it also marks the day I give up my old life."

"Who said you have to give up anything?" Steve asked softly.

"Well, maybe it's just that things will be different. It's just that feeling that I can never go back after tomorrow. My life will never be the same. Maybe that's a good thing, but it's also a little sad."

"I can understand that. I guess for me, you're really the only life I've had so far in this century. And that's not changing."

"No. That's going to stay the same," she told him, feeling touched by the thought. They reached his car, and he opened the door for her.

"Then I feel like I can get through anything."

…

The alarm blared close to Steve's ear, heralding the first day of training. He turned the alarm off and sat up, stretching the muscles in his arms. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and got up. He felt a nervous flutter in his stomach at the thought of starting training. After all he'd been through, it seemed absurd that training would make him nervous. He laughed aloud at himself, pushing the curtains aside to let the sunlight in. He neatly made his bed before heading for the shower.

Ten minutes later he was dressed and pouring himself a bowl of cereal. He checked his watch. Five minutes to six. Their training started at seven, and he'd told Aspen he would pick her up. He didn't know what all he'd need so as he got ready to leave, he grabbed his shield and helmet, pushing his shield into a round bag that fit it perfectly. He didn't need to be drawing attention to himself. He appreciated the anonymity he had attained with his neighbors. He hooked the shield over his back and locked the door before taking the stairs down to the street. He stowed the shield and helmet in the trunk and drove to Aspen's apartment. When he knocked on her door, she called for him to come in, and he found her standing in her bedroom doorway, a toothbrush stuffed into her mouth.

"Almost done," she said, her voice muffled. She disappeared into her bathroom and returned a moment later. "I'm so nervous. I feel like I'm going to the first day of school," she said.

"In a way, we are," he said. "We just won't be learning reading and arithmetic." When Aspen grinned at him, he realized he'd said something dated again. He was still having trouble picking up on all the new words and phrases and found himself slipping back into a very 1940s way of thinking and speaking. Aspen found it endearing though which he appreciated.

Aspen buckled her weapons belt onto her waist. She was dressed in a dark shirt and dark cargo pants, her red hair pulled back into a ponytail. The blonde strands were beginning to fade, and her hair was getting longer. "Clint's back. He said he had some things to tell us after training."

"Sounds good. Are you ready?"

"Yeah, I think so." She turned off the light and locked her door before following Steve down to his car. As he drove them to SHIELD headquarters, he noticed Aspen tapping her fingers on her knee. He reached over and took her hand, stilling her fingers.

"Relax. You'll be fine," he said. His own nerves had vanished, but he was a soldier, he was used to adjusting. "Clint's training us after all. He trained you before."

"I know."

Steve pulled into a parking spot and turned off the engine. Aspen hovered by his side while he retrieved his shield and helmet. They made their way to the training wing to find Clint waiting for them, dressed in all black. "Pen. Rogers," he greeted.

Steve nodded politely to him while Aspen greeted him with a nervous 'hi.' Clint gave her a curious glance.

"Nervous?" he asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Not at all," Aspen said with a smile. "What are we doing?" she asked.

"Today we're testing your skills. Rogers, we have an outfit for you in the locker room." He nodded to a room to their right, and Steve entered to find an outfit laid out for him. Similar cargo pants to Aspen's, a plain, dark grey T-shirt, and running shoes. He put them on, leaving his shield and helmet with his street clothes, and returned to the training room.

"Alright. First test. Agility, speed and strength." He motioned to the doors behind him. "We've got a course that involves running, jumping, vaulting, and climbing. You will be timed, and I'll be watching to see what you need to improve on. After that we'll work on stealth and then hand-to-hand combat."

"Is that all?" Aspen asked. Clint ignored her sarcasm.

"Okay, follow me." He led them across the open room and through a wide set of doors. The course before them was vast, similar to the military training course Steve had gone through at Camp Lehigh. "Aspen, you stand here." Clint motioned to a starting spot to the left. "And Steve." He nodded to the starting spot on the right. "I'll be up there watching and timing. I'll give you to the count of three and sound the starting bell. It's not a race, it's not a contest. I just want to see what you can do and what you need to improve on."

He climbed up to a perch that overlooked the course. "On my count. One." Steve set his eyes on the course ahead of him, steadying his breath. "Two." He crouched down, ready to take off at the sound of the bell. "Three." A bell rang above them, and they took off. Steve pounded down the start of the course. Ahead he saw three jumps, no more than three feet off the ground. He vaulted over them, keeping his strides small to avoid crashing into the second and third. Next came a rope wall. He leapt, landing halfway up and hauled himself easily over. He dropped to the ground, the eight foot length hardly jolting his shins. The course bent, and he veered right. There was a barbed wire enclosure, and he fell to the ground to crawl under it, reminded strongly of the same exercise during his military training. The old Steve had ended up trapped under the barbed wire, but the new Steve was already up and heading toward the end. There were two more jumps – higher this time, and another wall, this time solid with small hand and foot holds. A red line marked the ending, and he sprinted across. He wasn't winded at all when he slowed to a stop. He looked back, but he couldn't see Aspen. Another few minutes passed, and he began to worry that he'd set an unbeatable record. Aspen didn't have the advantage of the Super Soldier Serum. Another few minutes passed, and Aspen came tearing out of the maze, breathing hard. She stopped, putting her hands on her knees, and panting.

"I think I might need to practice," she finally said, catching her breath.

"Rogers, two minutes. Tolvar, eight. The average is six. The record _was_ five minutes thirty seconds." He looked impressed, and Steve felt a stab of embarrassment. He definitely had an unfair advantage.

"I know Steve has the advantage, but if you two are going to be working as partners, you need to learn to balance your skills and abilities," Clint told them. "You've both got your strengths and your weaknesses. You need to learn them inside and out."

Aspen shuffled her feet, looking abashed. "Look lively, Tolvar. This is only day one. There's plenty of time for improvement."

"And room," Aspen muttered. "Stealth next? Let me see if I can quit panting long enough to actually _not_ sound like a Darth Vader sneak attack."

…

The stealth test involved sneaking up on Clint in a dark room. Clint's hearing was uncanny though, and they both made several unsuccessful attempts on sneaking up on him. Steve was quiet on her feet, but the tiniest creak or shuffle alerted Clint. Finally Aspen managed to catch him off guard by climbing up onto the beams on the ceiling of the training room and dropping down on Clint's shoulders. When he hit the lights, she was smiling with satisfaction.

"You're both quiet on your feet. Rogers, you need to learn how to use your balance your weight properly to be just as light-footed as skinny little Aspen here."

"Hey!"

"Aspen, you need to learn to control your breathing. I could usually hear you. Deep, slow breaths. Holding your breath is only going to make you pant for more. Deep, slow breathing keeps enough air in your lungs without being noticeable. On the field you aren't going to get ten chances to sneak up on the enemy."

…

Hand-to-hand combat training consisted of Clint showing them different styles of fighting, walking them through the steps and then letting them test their skills on each other. Steve faced Aspen, terrified of hurting her. His thoughts flashed to the scene in Iceland. He had to duck when her fist came shooting out at him.

"Rogers, don't go easy on her just because she's your girlfriend," Clint called out to him. Steve blushed, but focused harder. This time when Aspen swung, he blocked her blow. She undercut with her other fist and landed a blow on his chest. He hardly felt it, but he knew on a normal man, it would hurt.

"Is this going to be a problem?" Clint asked. They turned to look at him. "He doesn't want to hurt you," he said to Aspen.

"Of course I don't."

"It's just training. Get out there in the field, and you'll be doing lots of things that make you uncomfortable."

"It's still not a fair fight."

"Then fight me." Clint walked toward him and Aspen backed away, looking between the two of them with mild concern. "I can take it. Come on. Show me what you've got," Clint challenged.

Steve faced him feeling a little better with this arrangement. He knew Clint wouldn't hold back. Sure enough Clint sent a punch straight at his face. Steve blocked, but it was a feint, and Clint knocked straight into his side, sending a flash of pain through him. Before he could counter, Clint was already lashing out at his right arm. Steve ducked to the side, striking back. Clint blocked his blow easily though, grunting a little under the exertion of holding Steve back. They fought on, Steve getting punched more often than not. He managed to knock Clint off his feet once though.

"Sorry!" he apologized. He hadn't meant to hit him so hard. Clint got to his feet, waving him off.

"Not bad," he said with a grin and then winced, holding onto his side. "I'm going to feel that in the morning. We've got some work to do, but both of you are much more advanced than the usual newbies."

"Well, technically I was an agent," Aspen said.

"A low level agent who helped on smuggling missions." There was nothing cutting in Clint's tone, and Aspen shrugged.

"Then what are we going to be doing?" Steve asked.

"I'm not sure yet. It's going to be a lot harder than that though," Clint said. "Good job for today. Take ten minutes, and then we're going to do the obstacle course again." Aspen let out a long groan.


	28. First Mission

**25 – First Mission – June 18th, 2012**

Aspen had been training hard. Every muscle in her body had been protesting the last three weeks. Now she felt the residual pain, but she also felt fit. She'd cut her time on the obstacle course down to five minutes and forty seconds while Steve has cut his down to a minute and a half. She tried not to let that get to her. She was very good at stealth work and managed to pass Clint's rigorous training. Steve had learned to move silently though, to be fair, he'd already been able to do that considering how much more he weighed than Aspen. She'd learned that it wasn't in the weight but the balance. The hand-to-hand combat was a bit trickier. Steve had picked it up quickly, his fast reflexes and sharp mind able to both predict moves and figure out just how to incapacitate an enemy. Aspen was learning to use muscles she never had before. Clint told her to focus on her strengths and strength itself was not one of those. She was strong for someone her size, but she could never match a full-grown man. She was small, but she was also fast and lithe, Clint told her.

Eventually Clint put Steve and her back together in the ring, and they'd tested their skills on each other. Clint had allowed Aspen to put on a padded vest to protect herself somewhat from Steve's blows. He softened them as well, but he'd finally allowed himself to fight her. Aspen loved the thrill of it. She felt so powerful evading his blows and getting in a few of her own. She used both arms, brought up in front of her face to block his blows, relying on her full body to take the shock. She was confident she could bring down anyone other than a Super Soldier in a tight situation.

They'd done other training too. They'd practiced shooting and fighting with knives. Aspen had been put through a swimming course having only ever swum at the community center in Arizona. They learned skills in first aid and spent a lot of time going over made-up missions where they would strategize their way through. It was intensive work, and Aspen went to bed exhausted every night, but she also felt a sense of accomplishment. In a frightening world, she no longer felt afraid.

Clint had pulled them aside after their first training session to tell them what he had learned of his brother. "I tracked him as far as I could, but his trail went cold after the mansion. He worked in the FBI after the Army as you found out. He was hired to be a bodyguard to the criminal Marko. We know what happened there. That's where his trail goes cold. SHIELD has a file on him. I became an agent shortly after that and they took interest in him, but there's nothing further on Barney Barton."

"What about Trickshot?" Aspen had asked.

"The file on him wasn't that extensive. His real name was Buck Chisholm. He was a conman, as we already knew. He was on SHIELD's radar, but he was more of a nuisance than anything. He tended to con criminals, so they weren't too worried. Eventually his heavy drinking caught up to him, and he got liver cancer. He died of it."

"But his legacy lived on."

"After he died, and I saw the death records, a new Trickshot started committing crimes. At first it looked like it was a copycat criminal, but he was too good, better even. The cons weren't little things though like Chisholm's. He's crossed SHIELD a few times, but they haven't been able to touch him. He's like smoke. There's nothing substantial on him, no one has seen him properly, no one knows his name."

"Then how do you know it's your brother?" Aspen had asked him gently. Could he have mistaken someone else for his brother in Iceland? I'd been years since he'd seen him after all.

"I know my brother. I know it was him. And what he wore. It was very similar to what Trickshot wore in his acts. I traced his patterns. He tends to hit high profile criminals as well as the rich who happen to have artifacts his boss wants. Some of the stuff he's stolen is stuff SHIELD would feel much better having in its own vaults. I should be able to track him through his crimes. I was following his trail the last week. It dried up in Paris."

"You were in Paris? I thought you were on a mission for Fury."

"I was multi-tasking. He moves around a lot. But his clientele all have one thing in common."

"What's that?"

"They all have connections to a Baron Zemo."

Steve had started at that name. "Who's that?" Aspen asked, looking between Steve and Clint.

"An old enemy," Steve said. "But he couldn't still be alive. I don't think." He sounded unsure.

"An heir probably," Clint replied. "Carrying on the family tradition. He's a collector. He sends Trickshot in to steal the items he needs for his collection. I never found out what we were sent to steal in Marko's mansion, but I have a feeling it was something of otherworldly value."

"I bet anything left over from the battle would be valuable. A Chitauri weapon."

"SHIELD tried to collect all of them, but a few went missing. It's the sort of thing he'd like. Anything related to Hydra or World War II. He's obsessed with that era." He gave Steve a look. "What was the Zemo you met like?" he had asked.

"He owned a castle we infiltrated along the Danish border. He was one of the Nazi's top researchers. We didn't part on good terms. He was manipulative and liked to work behind the scenes rather than get his hands dirty. He came up with a lot of nasty stuff though."

"So how do we do this?" Aspen had asked.

"Give me a little more time," Clint had told them. "I'll find him."

Today when Aspen and Steve arrived for training, Clint was standing with two black backpacks. "We're going on a mission," he told them. "Everything you need is in the packs."

"We're going on a mission?" Aspen asked. She saw Clint's brow rise and knew he was not in the mood for stupid questions. "Right now?"

"Yes, right now," he said, the exasperation in his voice clear. He'd been gruff ever since he'd seen his brother."

"Okay. If you think we're ready."

"This isn't your first mission, Aspen," he said impatiently.

"Sort of. As a level four agent anyway. Are you going to tell us what we're doing?"

"I'll brief you on the plane." He dropped the bags at their feet and started toward the doors.

"What on earth is wrong with him?" Aspen asked with a frown, grabbing her backpack and shouldering it. She staggered under the weight. It wasn't heavy, just heavier than she'd expected. She'd always packed light on missions before. Her dart guns and some gear. What sort of mission was this?

Steve looked uneasy. "I'm not sure," he said. "I guess we'll find out."

Clint had never been short with her like that before, and Aspen wished he had told them where they were going or even that they were going on a mission before two seconds ago. Was this a test or something? She shrugged and followed after him, Steve at her side. Clint was headed to the quinjet hangar, and Aspen frowned. Quinjets meant a long journey otherwise they would have just taken a SHIELD vehicle. Clint picked one of the jets, bringing down the ramp and hopping onboard. He readying the jet for flight when Steve and Aspen walked up the ramp.

"Where are we going?" Aspen asked.

"Austria," Clint answered shortly. "Come on, we're on a tight schedule."

"What's in Austria?" Aspen asked, refusing to budge, she dropped her backpack on the floor where it clanked.

Clint frowned slightly. "Our mission. Strap in." He sat down in the pilot's seat. "And don't toss your bag around. I packed grenades."

"Grenades?" Aspen eyed the pack. "Are we blowing something up in Austria?"

"It's cautionary."

Aspen exchanged another glance with Steve before strapping herself in. Steve took the seat next to her, stowing his pack next to where she had dropped hers. No one was manning the doors to the hangar which Aspen thought was odd. Clint pressed a control button on the panel and the doors began to open.

"Do we get a briefing?" Aspen tried again. In reply, Clint tossed her a thick folder. She caught it before the papers spilled out and opened it. Everything SHIELD had on Trickshot and anyone involved with him lay within.

"We're going after him?" Aspen asked, looking down at a map marked with locations Trickshot had worked a job starting in the early 90s.

"The patterns lead to Austria," Clint said. "There's a private collector there by the name of Fabian Wagner. He lives in a castle on the outskirts of Eisenerz. Word is, he's in possession of a very powerful artifact, something whoever is pulling Trickshot's strings would want. Zemo most likely."

"What is the artifact?" Steve asked, looking down at the file. He pulled out a page on Zemo, a frown marring his face. Aspen read over the file.

_Heinrich Zemo (1900–?)_

_Born in Leipzig, Germany_

_Known relatives: Helmut Zemo (deceased)_

_Nazi top scientist_

_Known allies: Red Skull, Hydra, Nazi Party, Arnim Zola _

_Abilities: Slowed aging due to Compound X, scientific genius, expert swordsman_

The file went on to say he had disappeared. He was last seen in South America, but it was not known whether he was dead or alive. "This makes it seem like he might still be alive," Aspen said before Clint could answer Steve's question.

"It's possible."

"And he's collecting dangerous artifacts?"

"Wagner is in possession of a set of powerful moonstones. They have the ability to manipulate energy. Very dangerous in the wrong hands."

"And you think he's the one pulling your brother's strings?" Aspen asked.

"No, I'm not sure, but I'm sure Barney is headed here. We need to head him off."

"And then what?"

"Take him in and track down Zemo."

"This sounds big. Doesn't Fury want in on it?" Aspen asked. She saw Clint frown. "You didn't okay this mission with him, did you?"

"We'll be back by tomorrow," Clint told her. "You, me, and Rogers can more than handle this."

"Whatever you say."

"Look, I'm sorry for dragging you into this without a warning. We need to act quickly though, and I'm not sure Fury would agree this is top priority right now."

"Saving your brother or keeping Zemo from collecting these relics? Both sound important to me."

"He doesn't know about Barney. That he's still alive."

"Why didn't you tell him?"

Clint was silent for a long moment. "I'm not sure," he said finally. "I guess because Fury gave me a second chance when no one else would. I don't want to betray his trust, but I also don't want Barney treated like a common criminal, like an enemy."

"Fury would give him a second chance."

"Yeah? And what if Barney doesn't remember who he is?"

"Doesn't mean he's not still in there. He'll remember you."

"I hope you're right."

Clint fell silent, focusing on flying the quinjet. Aspen continued to read through the files. She could tell the idea that Zemo was still alive upset Steve. "What happened?" she asked. "With Zemo?"

Steve was quiet for a moment, then he said, "It was in Denmark in 1944. I was working with the Howling Commandos on taking out Hydra's research facilities. We came across a castle that had been overtaken by Schmidt's researchers and soldiers. Our mission was to infiltrate it and destroy the research labs, maybe capture some of Schmidt's scientists. It wasn't that easy though. The castle was like a labyrinth. You never knew what you were going to find. There were several research labs situated around the castle. I needed to take them out as well as some flak cannons that were firing at the Allies fighter planes trying to get in. At first Zemo presented himself as a friend. It was his castle that was being occupied. I think in some way he did despise Hydra at first but only because his own ambitions were first and foremost in his mind. He pretended to help me, but he showed his true colors, and a lot of good men nearly died. We left his castle in ruins, and his hatred for me caused me some trouble later on in the war. But last time I saw him, he was trying to save his work before it was destroyed in a fire. I thought he'd died."

"What's this Compound X?" Aspen asked.

"He invented it, used it to slow aging. It made him nearly immortal, not invincible though."

"Why does it seem like so many old enemies keep popping up?" Aspen asked.

"I guess no matter how far we leave the past behind, it can always find a way to catch up." It wasn't a comforting thought.

…

Aspen's first glimpse of Austria had her scrambling for a better view. Clint cast her an annoyed look as she leaned over his seat, gawking at the scenery.

"Hey, do you mind? This isn't a sight-seeing trip," he said grumpily. Aspen just slapped him on the arm, noting the tiny smile that crept onto one side of his face.

"I've never been out of the country save Germany that one time and a few missions where it was dark and I didn't see anything." She left out Iceland, and no one brought it up.

"Well, we're about to land. Sit back down," Clint said. "You can see Austria in a few minutes.

Aspen grudgingly sat down again, strapping herself back in. Clint angled the jet down toward a line of mountains, and Aspen gripped her seat. She knew Clint was a good pilot – better than good – but flying in a quinjet over a mountain range made her nervous. She saw that Clint was headed toward a small valley in between two of the mountain's arms. The bit of flat ground gave them a platform to land on, and Clint expertly did so with nimble fingers on the gears.

"Will they have seen us?" Aspen asked.

"Not with the shields up," Clint told her. "Same design as the Helicarrier. Keeps the locals from getting curious."

"So we're hiking down?" Aspen asked.

"I thought you wanted to see the scenery," Clint said, unstrapping himself and grabbing his backpack. His bow and quiver he stowed on his back. Steve hooked his shield onto the back of his suit, and Aspen shouldered her pack. "Do we need both backpacks?" she asked Clint. "Steve's already got his shield."

"One should do."

"So what's the plan?" Aspen asked as Clint lowered the ramp. "Or do we have a plan?" she added doubtfully.

"We look at the castle first and then form a plan," Clint said.

"You sound awfully confident," Aspen said, following him off the quinjet.

"Well it's not the first time I've gone in blind." He seemed intent on getting down to the castle, and Aspen had to hurry to keep up. She looked around her, taking in the rugged mountains and intimidating pine trees that surrounded them.

"You forget that I'm _not_ used to going in blind. I've always had a dossier or something – a plan. Smuggling and intercepting smugglers is one thing, but this is completely different. I've never infiltrated a castle before."

"Aspen, you've practically single-handedly taken down a branch of A.I.M. You stole an artifact from Odin's vault. You fought in an alien invasion. I'm not worried about your abilities."

"Well, thank you, but-"

"Just give it a rest, Pen," Clint said wearily.

"You're the one who dragged us into this."

"Well I don't hear Rogers complaining."

Aspen shot Clint a petulant glare, pressing her lips shut to keep herself from retorting. If it was anyone else who had dragged her on this mission, she would shut up and do her job, but she knew Clint and wasn't afraid to question him or his choice to bring her into the mission. She needed to treat this like any other mission. This was her chance to prove that she could be an effective agent and what better way than to help Clint find his brother?

Aspen kept quiet, falling back to walk beside Steve as they started down the mountainside. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but Aspen could see his hesitance to speak out to Clint. His brow was furrowed, but he kept his lips shut tight as if forcing himself to keep quiet. He sent her a sympathetic look. Aspen felt a stab of frustration at Clint for having forced Steve into this too, well of course Steve had come willingly, but he was just taking orders. He could more than take care of himself, but this wasn't his mission. Clint was taking them into something both unknown and personal. Tensions were already running high, and Aspen knew he was liable to be touchy with his brother so close. At least when she'd gone after her parents, she'd given Steve a choice.

The mountainside got steep a ways down, and Aspen had trouble keeping her footing. Loose gravel trickled under her feet, and she stumbled more than once. Steve grabbed her elbow to steady her. Clint looked back, but Aspen motioned for him to keep going. The ground was in sight, and Aspen quickened her pace, eager to be on solid ground again. One moment she was taking a step forward, the next her feet slid out from under her, and she was falling toward the edge of the cliff. She grabbed the edge just as her body slid off the pathway. Dirt showered down on her, and she shut her eyes against it. For a moment her body hung suspended in mid-air, and she felt her finger slipping on the loose dirt. She dug in with her nails, but it did no good. Then a hand grasped her by the wrists, pulling her back up. A hand steadied her, and she looked up to see Steve, eyes practically blazing with worry.

"Are you okay?" Clint asked. She could hear the worry in his voice. When she turned to look at him she saw that his earlier irritation gone.

"I'm alright. Thanks for pulling me up," Aspen said, looking up at Steve. His brow was furrowed deeply, and his eyes danced with thoughts she couldn't discern. She'd almost fallen to her death. She realized in that moment that Steve had been reminded of Bucky falling. "I'm alright," she repeated softly. "I'll be a lot better when we get off this dratted mountain." Clint gave a nervous laugh, and Steve let go of Aspen. She brushed herself off, grimacing at the amount of dirt under her fingernails, and then started forward, keeping far away from the edge.

The rest of the journey down was uneventful much to Aspen's relief. When her feet met with the grass on the flat ground, she sighed. "Well that was fun. What next?"

Clint led them to where the castle was situated, holding up a hand to pause them when they had a visual. The castle was breathtaking, Aspen thought as they crouched down behind the low-lying bushes and brambles at the edge of the forest. Clint pulled out binoculars and started scoping out the castle.

"What's going on there?" Aspen whispered. She didn't know why she was whispering. They were still half a mile away, but she felt the need to whisper.

"Nothing. Two guards nine o'clock and three o'clock. Probably more inside."

"So are we getting the moonstones or getting your brother or keeping him from getting the moonstones or what?"

Clint was silent for a moment and Aspen wasn't sure if he was going to answer. "Hopefully stop anyone from stealing the moonstones and get Barney into our custody."

"And if he doesn't recognize you?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there," he said gruffly, not taking his eyes away from the binoculars. Aspen huffed and turned to Steve.

"I'm not sure that's entirely reassuring," she said. Neither Steve nor Clint replied to that, but Aspen could see the doubt in Steve's eyes. Neither of them liked going in blind. It wasn't like going into a mission last minute with minimal details – they were going into the unknown with a man who had no idea what they were going to do. Aspen knew that he was thinking of his brother – she would be too if it was her family on the line – but she also knew that having that sort of focus could blind you to a whole lot of other things. She and Steve would have to be Clint's eyes and ears because his focus was going to be on Barney, and Aspen had the feeling he wasn't going to be their only problem.

"Right. There's only one way we're going to be able to do this," Clint said, finally turning away. He offered Steve the binoculars. "We need to take down the guard on the west side and scale the wall to gain access from above. Once we're in, we take down security and find the moonstones. That's where Barney will be headed. We grab him and leave the way we came. If we're lucky, no one will even know we were there."

"There are about a hundred ways that could go wrong," Aspen told him.

"Well then do you have a better suggestion since you're so knowledgeable about these kinds of missions?" Clint shot at her. His words stung, but Aspen forced herself to stay calm.

"I'm just saying that it's a very 'best scenario' sort of plan. Shouldn't we plan for the worst?"

"You've got your dart guns, I've got my bow, Rogers has his shield."

"So basically we just beat everyone unconscious so our path is clear. You don't think he'll have any other security in place?"

Clint shut his eyes for a moment, and Aspen feared he was going to shout at her. "I just want him back, Pen," he said softly. She knelt down next to him and took his hands.

"Me too. You're basically my brother, so that makes him family too. I understand the value of family. But I want this to work. I just want to make sure we're going to be able to pull this off. I don't want anyone getting hurt."

"I know, Pen. I'm sorry." He rubbed his eyes and then cleared his throat. "Okay. Aspen, you have your dart guns. You can take out the first guard from a distance. Those guns will shoot at a range that can keep you far enough away that you can stay out of sight."

"How far do I have?"

"See that boulder down there?" Clint pointed down the grassy terrain to a boulder about fifty yards from the castle. "There's your spot."

"How do I get there?"

"Remember your stealth lessons?"

"But he's at an advantage."

"True, but if you notice, he scans the whole western side of the castle, not just your path. I'll have the binoculars and call out for you to drop when he turns your way. It's going to be a game of don't be seen."

"And if I am?"

"Then I'll deal with him."

"Alright, so I shoot him with a dart, he goes down. Won't someone notice?"

"Believe it or not, I did take the time to research the castle before we came here."

"And you're just now telling us this?"

"Relax, Pen. The castle runs on a scan system. Each guard will have a scan card. It's not very state of the art for the valuable things he's hiding in there. It's like he never expected anyone to try and steal them. So we get in using the guard's scan card. No one should come by. They switch every four hours, and his shift just started."

"How did you learn all this?" Aspen asked, lifting a brow.

"Local intelligence. They've been monitoring Wagner for awhile now, waiting for anything untoward. The vault he keeps the moonstones in is more of a collection. It takes two security cards if he's not authorizing it. We should be able to find another guard along the way. Pretend like this is practice. Remember the stealth and the climbing wall and the crawling?"

"Not my fondest memories, but yes."

"It's just like that only someone might actually try to shoot you."

"Comforting. So why isn't Steve going in first instead of me? I mean, he did far better than me on every test."

"You're smaller and are less likely to be spotted. You also don't have a red, white, and blue shield strapped to your back."

"Fair point."

"We'll be right behind you once the guard is down."

"How do you know Barney hasn't already been here?" Aspen asked.

"He hasn't. The guards are acting like everything is fine. The minute those stones disappear, they'll know."

"But he's good at what he does. They might not. And anyway, if we're trying to keep him from stealing the stones why can't we just talk to Wagner in the first place and tell him we're going to prevent a burglary, can we please come in?"

"You think he'd just trust three foreigners who come striding up to his castle to protect his most valuable items?" Clint asked with a short laugh.

"Maybe."

"We stick to the plan. I have a tranq if Barney doesn't cooperate. I hate to use it, but I will if I have to. We go out the way we came in."

"Carrying Barney?"

"We'll manage."

"Alright. I think I'm ready." Aspen took a dart gun from the bag, strapping her belt on and placing it in its nook. She added a small dagger and a spare dart gun for good measure. The belt was stocked with other supplies such as a long cord that she could use for climbing if need be and a handy tool that messed with electrical devices. Clint took the binoculars back from Steve and positioned himself. Aspen left her backpack with them and got ready to bolt.

"Remember, stay low and don't move too quickly. Stealth isn't about speed; it's about staying out of sight. It's instinct to try to go as quickly as possible to get to a safe place but quick movement draws the eyes like nothing else. When I tell you to drop, do so without hesitation. The key to not being seen is not presenting anything _to_ be seen. The tiniest bit of movement can alert a well-trained guard to your presence. Stay still."

Aspen nodded, swallowing back her fear. "Got it."

"Good luck," Steve told her, resting a hand on her shoulder for a moment. She gave him a grateful nod and then focused on the boulder down below. It suddenly seemed miles away.

"Get ready. And go." Aspen ran for it, keeping her pace smooth and even and focusing on not losing her balance. She had gone about halfway to the rock when she heard an insistent '_drop_!' from her earpiece. She fell to the ground and lay still, heart trumpeting loudly in her chest. She felt like Frodo crossing the desolation of Mordor, Sauron's eye roving above her. She could almost feel the heat of it above her, but then it was gone and Clint was telling her to move again.

Her hands met with the rough side of the rock, and she realized she'd made it. "_Good job. Now stay down and wait until you have a clear shot. The targeting mechanism will do the rest._"

"What, don't think I can make the shot?" Aspen asked a little breathlessly. She took aim, squinting at the guard high above her on the castle's turret. From up close the castle looked even bigger, each stone in the wall bigger than her. The guard's eyes were over her head, looking toward the woods. Aspen fired. The dart went straight toward the guard, whizzing between the stones along the wall of the parapet and embedding itself into the guard's chest. She saw him fall but couldn't hear it. She hoped no one else had. "He's down," she said, scanning the perimeter. "It's clear."

"_We're coming_," Clint's answer came. Aspen waited while they made their way to her, keeping her eyes set on the castle, expecting another guard to come running, but Clint's plan was working smoothly so far much to her surprise. She heard them reach her side.

"So far so good." Clint drew his bow and picked an arrow, setting it with a special tip before notching it. He drew back and shot. The arrow became a grappling hook as it flew, and notched itself over the parapet giving them a way up.

"This is worse than wall climbing," Aspen said. She'd always been horrible at climbing ropes even in elementary school when it was just a part of P.E. and the rope had been five feet long.

"It'll be fun," Clint said, patting her on the back. He moved forward. Aspen and Steve exchanged a glance before following. The rope seemed to go on into eternity as Aspen gazed up at it. "Ladies first."

"Really?" she shot a glare at Clint. "It'll take me forever, you know."

"I'll just push from below if you go too slowly," he told her.

"Very funny." Aspen slid her dart gun into her belt and placed her hands on the rope. Pretending that she weighed nothing, she began to climb, using the rough stone wall as support for her feet. It really wasn't so bad and she made good time, peering over the parapet wall before throwing her weight over it and landing softly on the stone pathway. The guard lay unconscious before her, and she checked his pulse before grabbing his scan card. Clint and Steve pulled themselves up a few moments later, and Aspen waved the card in front of them. "We're in," she said.


	29. Old Enemies

**Author's Note: **Well we come to the end of Part Three. I'm writing a really long prologue for Part Four (we get to see how Zemo and Steve met during WWII). Give me a little while, and I'll get some chapters done and posted! I will also start giving you hints about the third story in my Avengers series.

So as always, thank you so much for favorites, follows, and reviews! I've been getting some really awesome reviews that totally make my day so thank you! I also wanted to say thank you for favoriting me as an author! To think that people actually love what I write is an aspiring author's dream! Thank you!

* * *

**26 – Old Enemies – June 18th, 2012**

The entire thing felt too much like a trap for Steve's liking. You didn't just walk into a castle without resistance. He hadn't felt good about this mission from the start, but he hadn't wanted to say something to Clint – he was their supervisor after all – or Aspen for fear of upsetting her. He didn't like going behind Fury's back. It felt wrong when he was the head of SHIELD and they were just starting out as agents, well, he was anyway. He didn't want to start off on the wrong foot.

The connection to Zemo was what had him the most worried. Under the best of circumstances, that name was unpleasant, but the idea that he might still be alive… It seemed impossible, but he had already seen impossible. He was alive after all.

Aspen hesitated in front of him and motioned for them to keep back. She had drawn her dart gun again and pulled the trigger. As if drawn like magnets to their targets, two darts shot out, curving around the bend. He heard two distinct thuds as two bodies hit the floor.

"I like this new design," Aspen said, her expression akin to a child getting a new toy. Clint had already moved ahead, disappearing down the hall. When Steve and Aspen followed, they found him pulling a scan card from one of the guard's pocket.

"Let's go," he said briskly. They found the room where the moonstones were kept easily enough and the two scan cards opened the doors. Clint seemed to have some idea of the castle's floor plan so Steve and Aspen simply followed his lead.

Several doubts crossed through Steve's mind. Wouldn't Clint's brother see the unconscious bodies of the guards and know something was amiss? What if another guard came along? The whole plan wasn't well thought out and though he understood Clint's desperation to save his brother, he wasn't sure this was the way to do it. They didn't even know when he was coming _if_ he was coming. Or at least he didn't. Clint stayed quiet as they entered the room. It was more like a museum than a secure lockup, Steve noticed at once. Artifacts lined the walls on shelves and in glass cases. Pedestals stood here and there. He wasn't sure what anything was, but it was a thief's paradise.

The moonstones themselves glowed from a glass case. They were both the size of his fist. It was hard to believe that something so beautiful could be so dangerous, but he could see why a villain like Zemo would be interested in them if it was, in fact, Zemo who had sent Barney Barton to steal them.

"What now?" Aspen voiced his own question.

"We wait."

"Won't he see the guards and realize that it's a trap?" Steve asked. As Clint's eyes flashed to him, Steve caught an emotion he knew all too well in them. Desperation. "I'll go move them," he offered. "The lack of guards is suspicious too, but unconscious guards are a dead giveaway." Clint gave him a curt nod. He slipped from the collection room and found his way back to the two guards in the hall. After opening several doors, he found an empty study to shove them in. He wasn't sure how long the dart's effects would last, but Clint and Aspen didn't seem worried. The third guard out on the parapet he found a storage closet for. He quickly scanned the landscape from the parapet but could see nothing out of the ordinary. It all seemed too easy, too welcoming. It was a break-in that nearly anyone could accomplish with the right tools. He turned to find his way back to the collection room. A voice stayed him where he stood though. It wasn't speaking to him – it was far too muted for that – but his keen ears picked up on the strains of a conversation spoken quickly into what he assumed was a phone. He detoured down a side hall and walked soundlessly toward a heavy oak door that stood slightly ajar. From his vantage in the hall he could see a man standing with his back to him. Greying hair matched his tailored grey suit, and he noticed that the man kept running his hands through his already unkempt hair as if he was nervous about something. What Steve found unusual – at least for this time – was that the man was not using a phone but rather a radio to speak to whomever it was on the other end. It reminded him of the ones he had used during the war.

"…yes, yes, yes," he was saying in a thick Austrian accent. "All the preparations are complete." He paused. "It took some…._adjustments_, but it is all ready for you. And for _him_."

"_Good, very good_," came the response, slightly static and yet all so familiar. Zemo. The voice was wizened a bit, creaky whereas it had once been smooth and charismatic. Steve would recognize it anywhere though.

"The basement is the best place for it. The villagers should not get suspicious. They do not come near here anyway. We will be safe."

"_Make sure that they do not find this when they arrive._"

"I will make sure of it. But when do we use it?"

"_All in good time. Be patient, Wagner_."

"Yes, sir. I will wait."

Realizing that the conversation was almost over, Steve moved away, hurrying back to the collection room. Clint and Aspen were out of sight when he entered. He found his way back to the moonstones and heard Aspen call out his name. She was crouched behind one of the thick pedestals but rose when she saw him. "What took you so long?" she asked, voice anxious.

"Sorry, I overheard a conversation Wagner was having over the radio. He was talking to Zemo."

Aspen's eyes widened further. "You're sure?"

"I'd know that voice anywhere."

"What did they say?"

"They have some sort of…well I'm not sure what it is. In the basement. Wagner said he'd had to make some adjustments but that it was up and running. Zemo made it sound like he was expecting someone to come here. And then he mentioned 'them.' Why do I get the feeling that this is a trap?"

"Whatever Zemo is hiding here is not our concern right now," Clint said from across the rom.

"But that would mean that Zemo is in with Wagner. Why would he send your brother to steal the moonstones? Something doesn't smell right here."

"Zemo's a criminal. He's just stabbing Wagner in the back. Trust me, we see this all the time."

Steve felt torn. Part of him knew he needed to go investigate whatever was in the basement, but another part of him knew there was no budging Clint from his mission. He respected Clint's leadership, but this wasn't something he could ignore. He _knew_ Zemo, they didn't.

"I've got to go down to the basement and see what they have," he said.

Clint's eyes hardened. "We need you here."

"No, you don't. You and Aspen are more than capable of handling this."

"So now you're disobeying ord-"

"Clint," Aspen held up a hand, interrupting him. "You're not being fair. You didn't give us _orders_. You didn't even pass this by Fury. Let him go."

Clint studied her for a moment and then nodded. "Go."

"Whatever Zemo's planning, it's not good," Steve said. He wasn't sure why he felt the need to justify his actions. He respected Clint and didn't want to get on his bad side, but right now all of Clint's focus was on his brother.

"It's fine. Go," Clint repeated with less malice in his voice.

"Be careful," Aspen told him.

"You too." He left the room and found his way down through trial and error, always keeping a wary eye out for guards. The lack of them was suspicious, he thought, but maybe Wagner trusted the isolation more than his guards.

He found a set of stairs that led down and assumed he was on the right track. He expected guards, but the basement at the bottom of the stairs was silent and still, devoid of any guards or security devices. Steve looked around in confusion. Maybe there was another level, a sub-basement below the ground? He paced around the room looking for possible hidden doors. A soft chuckle from the doorway stilled him. He turned around slowly to find himself facing the grey-haired man he had seen earlier. Wagner.

"I see you are still so much like your old self, Captain. Always following the trail to find the center of enemy headquarters. A good little patriot."

"There isn't anything down here, is there?"

"How very astute of you."

"You knew we were coming?"

"Place the right bait and anyone will follow it. Agent Barton will follow his brother, you will follow Zemo, and that young lady will follow either of you like a lost puppy." Steve clenched his fists. "Endearing really. Like lab rats scurrying to the cheese. You never fail to press the button. Sometimes the button zaps you though."

"That's cheating."

"It's science. Now I think I'll have you stay down here while I go greet our guest. He's very eager to see you again, you know."

Steve lunged for the man, but Wagner pressed a button on the wall and metal doors slid shut right in front of him, baring his exit. He pounded on the metal. It dented slightly under his fists, but wouldn't budge. His shield did no better. He turned to face the room again, looking for another means of escape but the dank basement was solid. There was no way out.

…

Aspen was getting cramped crouching behind the pedestal. She was about to readjust herself when she heard the door softly open and close again. She tensed. Was it Steve? When no one spoke she knew it wasn't. She saw a figure pass by where she was hiding, heading straight toward the moonstones. He was wearing a purple hood, so she couldn't see his face, but he was built like Clint and carried a bow. His quiver was attached to his leg, and she knew this was the same man she'd seen in Iceland. He had a definite purpose now and didn't look around before grabbing the moonstones and tucking them into a pouch at his side. Aspen saw Clint rise and take a step toward his brother. Like lightning, Barney Barton pivoted and struck out at Clint. Clint ducked.

"Barney! It's me! It's Clint," he said. "Your brother," he added when Barney didn't respond. Barney hesitated for a second, and Aspen thought he was going to respond but a moment later he shoved past Clint, running for the door. Clint stood dazed for a moment and then took after him.

"Clint! Wait!" Aspen flew after him, grabbing the door that had shut behind him and pulling. It wouldn't budge. She tried the knob again but it was locked. She banged her fists on the door in frustration. Steve was right, this was a trap. It had been so obvious all along and yet they had walked straight into it. Skilled they might be, but they still couldn't walk through walls. She pounded on the door, but either no one heard her or there was no one out there who wanted to let her out. She turned to the room. Surely there was something that could help her. She scanned the shelves and glass cases but she had no idea what anything was. She wished she'd brought her backpack with her after all. Now those explosives Clint had packed would come in handy. She paced back and forth like a trapped animal, her eyes scanning every bit of the room for a weak spot. There were no windows or vents though. No other doors. But there was a Chitauri weapon sitting in an alcove that she had missed before. She stopped mid-stride and backtracked. It was one of the guns used in the battle of New York. Something SHIELD hadn't been able to recover. She knew they hated it when things like that slipped through their fingers but right now she was grateful this one had. She grabbed it from the table and familiarized herself with the weapon before standing a good distance back and aiming it at the latch on the door.

The blast was loud. The door splintered and fumed as the blue energy seared it open. Aspen readjusted the Chitauri gun in her grip before leaving the room. She had no idea where Clint had gone, but she knew where Steve was. She looked around but she had no idea how to get to the basement. She picked a hall at random and took off at a run. She could hear voices echoing from different parts of the castle. Whatever secrecy they had hoped for was quite clearly negated. She took several wrong turns before she finally found a staircase leading down. Footsteps echoed behind her, but she ran on. There was a set of metal doors at the bottom of the stairs. She tried the latch but they were locked tight. There was a button on the wall but it did nothing when she pressed it. She heard something clank behind the doors.

"Steve?"

"Aspen?" She could hardly hear his voice through the thick doors.

"Yeah. I can't get the door open. Can you?"

"No, I've been trying."

"I might be able to blast my way in. Can you stand back?"

"Okay."

She gave him a moment to move away from the door and lifted the Chitauri gun. It took multiple shots to break open this door. Finally the metal melted under the pressure. Aspen saw Steve's hands reach through and pry the door open. As soon as the gap was wide enough, she dropped the gun and threw herself at him. He put the arm that wasn't holding his shield around her, looking surprised.

"I'm okay, it's alright," he said softly.

"I had no idea if you were alright," she said. She knew that if they were going to go on missions together, she couldn't get so worried over his safety. He could take care of himself, and she would only get distracted worrying. "Sorry. I'm good. I just don't know where Clint is, and I have no idea what's going on. All I know is that we were somehow expected."

"I think you're right. I'm afraid this is my fault."

"How would it be your fault?"

"He's after me."

"Who?"

"Zemo."

"What happened, Steve? Does he have some sort of grudge against you?" she asked.

"You could say that." He looked almost guilty. "It was back during the war. We didn't part on good terms. I accidently caused him some grave injuries – his face was badly burned in the process. I also destroyed some of his most important research. I know he holds a grudge."

"That's a long time to hold a grudge."

"I ruined his life. Burned his home. He's lived a long and bitter life. I'm sure me being alive after all those years doesn't help."

"Maybe you can tell me the whole story some day, but right now we need to find Clint and get out of here."

"How did you get separated? Did he find his brother?"

"Yeah, Barney showed up. He was too quick for Clint though which is saying something. It was almost like he had heightened abilities like you."

"You think he was given another version of the Super Soldier Serum?" Steve looked alarmed at the thought.

"No, he was just quick. His reflexes. He was built like Clint, not, well, not like you. Clint took after him and when I tried to follow the doors locked on me. I blasted my way out." She indicated the Chitauri weapon on the ground.

"Let's go find Clint before Zemo or whoever finds him first."

They headed back up the stairs, Steve with his shield strapped to his left arm, Aspen wielding her dart gun. At the top of the stairs, Aspen saw two figures waiting with guns. She'd hardly recognized them as guards when Steve flung his shield up, catching both in the face and knocking them unconscious before they had the chance to shoot. They sidestepped the bodies and stood in the hall looking left and right.

"Which way?" they asked in unison.

"Should we split up?" Aspen asked.

"I think we should stick together. Whoever locked us up made sure we were separated."

"Good idea." Aspen was relieved at the thought. Wandering the castle alone wasn't appealing to her in the least, and she felt less jumpy with Steve at her side.

"Let's go left," Steve suggested. "Start at the artifact room and move on from there."

Aspen nodded, allowing him to go first. He hesitated at every bend in the hall, but they didn't come across any other guards. "I don't understand," Aspen said quietly. "They capture us but they don't seem too concerned that we're loose unless security really sucks here. Not that I'm complaining."

Steve was frowning. "It all seems planned. Like they want us to keep going. Like lab rats."

"Like _what_?" She'd never been compared to a lab rat before, and she wasn't sure she liked it.

"Just something Wagner said before he locked me in down there."

"You met him?"

"For a moment. He made it sound like I was expected all along and walked right into his trap. Which I did. There was nothing in the basement."

"How were you to know?"

"I should have known. Zemo's tricked me before."

"You were just trying to do what was right."

"I'm not sure what to do now. I like to know who I'm fighting."

"The suspense is killing me too. I want to see this infamous Zemo."

"Don't be too eager to meet him. I'd rather keep you far away from him," Steve said seriously. She glanced at him to see his brow furrowed and a frown set on his face.

"I can handle myself," she told him. "I'm not afraid of him."

"You should be." He said no more, but Aspen felt a mixture of annoyance at his overprotectiveness and nerves at how serious he was taking this threat. "Someone who has lived that long and still feels the need for revenge is dangerous."

"He sounds psychotic."

"He is." He looked around the corner. "We're at the collection room. Wow, you did a number on that door, didn't you?" He threw her a small smile.

"It was in my way," she said with a shrug. "Where to now?"

Steve frowned. "I'm not sure. Did you see which way Clint went?"

Aspen shook her head. "I don't hear anything anymore. Let's go this way." Steve followed her as she walked toward the right, stepping lightly and keeping her ears alert for any noises. The castle was too still and it was making her nervous.

When a radio suddenly buzzed overhead and a voice came out over invisible speakers, she nearly jumped out of her skin. She collided with Steve, banging her elbow painfully on his shield.

"Attention Captain America, this is Fabian Wagner speaking. There is someone who wishes very much to meet you but since you have escaped the basement, I wonder if you and your lady friend might join me for some refreshments in the dining hall? Blasting through the doors will not be necessary. Take the hall to the right until you come to the double doors."

The thought that he knew where they were unsettled Aspen. It had been just a whole trick the entire time. They'd been lab rats, and they'd walked right into the traps. She might as well hand in her resignation right now. "I feel like Luka and Leia walking straight into a trap where they end up having tea with Darth Vader," Aspen said.

"I actually understood that," Steve said. "And you're right."

"What do we do?"

"Take the bait? I don't see what else we can do. Clearly he knows where we are and that we've escaped. He doesn't sound too concerned which worries me."

"And we have no idea where Clint is. Wagner could have him for all we know."

"We might as well get this over with." Aspen nodded, feeling a lot less brave than she wanted to be. She followed Steve to the right and down the hall until, true to Wagner's word, they came to a double set of doors. Aspen took a deep breath as Steve opened the doors.

Wagner sat at the very end of the left side of the table. The chair at the very end was turned away from them, but Aspen had the horrible feeling that someone was sitting in it. Wagner stood as they entered the room. He was a short man with grey hair dressed impeccably in a suit. His brown eyes were small and set close together.

"Ah, welcome," he said in an Austrian accent. "It's a great pleasure to see you again Captain. I wasn't sure how long we'd keep you down there, but it seems your young lady friend is more than capable of saving both herself and you. Very impressive. Does she have a name?" Steve set his jaw, and Aspen simply glared at the man. "No, well that will not do at all. Superheroes must have names, am I correct? We have Captain America and Hawkeye and, of course, my own personal friend, Trickshot."

Steve and Aspen exchanged a glance. So Barney was working for Wagner after all. "You wonder perhaps why I brought his brother here? My employer has a bone to pick with him. They have history, unfinished business. Our young archer friend crossed him awhile back, and that did not sit well. Not at all."

"What did you do to Barney?" Aspen asked.

"Saved his life. Well, not me personally. When he came to us, he was near death. A doctor, one of the _best_, was able to bring him back. Of course he needed to make a few adjustments to make sure he didn't make the mistake of turning against us. We saw to that. Now he is a loyal footman."

"What did you do to Clint?"

"Nothing yet. I was going to give Trickshot the order to kill him, but we'll see about that after lunch. Are you hungry?"

Neither Aspen nor Steve moved as Wagner settled down. A butler came in behind them, skirting nervously around Steve to serve his master. Wagner acted as if they weren't standing there at all. Aspen wanted to throw a chair at him, but she stood still, waiting for Steve's cue.

"What do you want from us?" he asked after a long pause.

Wagner looked up. "Oh I want nothing from you or your friend – what shall we call her? Nothing to do with birds – much too cliché. We need something with a nice ring to it."

"Why are we here then?"

"Did you not follow your friend here?"

"Yes, but you wanted me specifically here."

"Not me, but my employer."

"Fine. Zemo, right? Why doesn't he face me?" Aspen could see the fury building behind Steve's eyes. It wasn't an expression she saw often on him, but when pressed, his blue eyes seemed to dance with the emotion.

"I would, but I am enjoying the view far too much. Well what I can see." The chair slowly turned around, and Aspen found herself facing a man who wore a purple veil over his face. She couldn't see the damage from the fire but she could almost feel the hatred radiating off of him as he faced Steve again.

Steve tensed beside her, gripping his shield tightly. "Zemo," he said softly.

"Well, well, we meet again Captain America."


	30. Part Four: Second Chances

**Author's Note: **Here were are finally with the prologue for part four! It's a long one too. We get to see Steve in the 40s. Sorry it took me so long to get this up. Speaking of the 40s, I've been working hard on my 1940s story where Aspen and Steve meet during WWII. It's coming along really well. I was almost done though when I realized it would be so much better with Steve's point of view too. So even though I'm almost done and like on page 60, I'm going back and adding in his point of view. So we'll get a closer look on pre-serum Steve and some of the 'montages' that the movie doesn't go into detail with. (Like all the missions he and the Howling Commandos go on that we see for like two seconds.) I will also be giving you some insight into the next story in my Avenger's series starting with the next chapter. I haven't got a whole lot planned yet, but I hoping to get my WWII fic out first. (I seriously had originally intended it to be like 30 pages. It's probably going to be like 200.)

So I got my Winter Soldier copy the day it came out. Fred Meyer falsely advertised that the DVD had a digital copy though, so even though I had a code inside my DVD, there was no digital copy. I was sad. But then my best friend came to the rescue and gave me a copy of her digital one. So now I have that on my computer. I've watched it three times since it came out a week ago. And that's just not enough. I finally went to go see Guardians of the Galaxy and LOVED it! Starlord is so Andy from Parks and Rec. (Burt Macklin, FBI). Anyway, I laughed so hard. It was just so well done. I also watched The Fantastic Four movies which were not so fantastic, but Chris is so hilarious in them! It was worth it for him. I have also got into reading comics. It's a whole new world I had not yet discovered. I'm acquiring the cheapest used copies I can find on Amazon and Hastings's website cause they are really expensive new! But there are some really good series out there. I love seeing the different interpretations of the characters and getting background details on some of them that the movies don't show.

So as you can see my life has been very full of Marvel lately which is not a bad way to be. I'm finally down to working three days a week again now that tourist season is over, so I'll have more time to write. Although I do need to take some substitute teacher jobs to fill in the paychecks, but I'm making sure I have plenty of time to write too! Alright, here you go. Enjoy!

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**Part Four: Second Chances**

**Prologue – April 27, 1944**

Steve Rogers had never been in a castle before but he had been in a Hydra base before. They were easy to spot with their banners bearing the red Hydra symbol of a skull-faced sea creature. The advanced weaponry gave them away too. The Howling Commandos had infiltrated the castle over an hour ago, but he had found himself getting lost in the labyrinth of corridors and rooms. He soon realized that there was more than one lab and that the building was overrun with both Hydra soldiers and Nazis. This was a place of nightmares, but he needed to keep focused on the mission. There were three cannons that were aimed at the skies right now preventing the planned Ally air raid. He'd radioed in to warn the pilots but they couldn't take the entire castle from the ground. Bucky, Dernier, and Dugan had gone to eliminate one cannon while Falsworth, Morita, and Jones had gone after the second. Steve was taking the third.

It had been a definite change turning from scrawny Steve from Brooklyn into Captain America, the symbol of hope, but he'd been under the serum's effect for a little under a year now. He'd gotten his feet and learned how to use his new abilities and strengths. And his shield. He'd been instantly drawn to the sleek silver design, much simpler than Howard Stark's other inventions. And the suit…he had to admit it was growing on him. At first it had felt like too much, but now it was an icon, one he had finally earned not through movies or bond sales but through real action and saving lives. He'd finally gotten the chance to prove himself and to help his country.

He heard shuffling up ahead and silently paced forward and waited at the edge of the corner. Two Hydra soldiers passed him, their arms relaxed at their sides. So far they had managed secrecy, but he had a feeling they weren't going to stay unnoticed for long. As if in response, an alarm began to blare deep within the castle. The Hydra soldiers' hands flew to their guns, but Steve had already moved, walking up behind them and bringing his shield down on both their heads. The resounding clang made him wince as the soldiers slumped to the ground. He moved on, working his way up toward where the cannon was housed. It should have been a simple in and out job, but the Hydra soldiers were on alert now, and those he came across were well prepared.

He vaulted up a set of spiral stairs, coming closer to where the cannon was stationed. He kicked the door in and sent his shield ricocheting off the wall. It hit the two guards on the left while he kicked the third in the head. He caught his shield as the fourth guard swung his gun toward him. The bullet ricocheted off, and Steve bashed the metal into the man's head. He turned to the cannon. It was large and looked like any other Hydra weapon – advanced and complicated. He wasn't sure how to disarm it. Dernier had explosives, but Steve was no expert in that field. The more he studied the cannon, the more he grew frustrated. Finally he swung his shield up and slammed it down on the control panel of the cannon as hard as he could. A small explosion sent him flying backwards into a table. Papers flew, and the wood cracked under his weight.

"Not, I think, a very good idea," a voice said from the doorway. Steve scrambled to his feet as a tall man wearing a purple veil stepped into the room.

"Who are you?" he asked, trying to ignore the singed feeling that lingered in his fingers and chest.

"The owner of this castle. I am Baron Zemo." His accent was German, and Steve was willing to bet he was deeply invested in Hydra if this was his castle. "Before you use that shield on me, you should know that the use of my castle was not my idea. I disapprove of what experiments go on here. They're bumbling fools the lot of them."

"Are you a friend to the Allies?" Steve asked cautiously.

"I do not pick sides."

"That's not really an answer."

"No. I suppose it isn't. I can help you though. No one knows this castle better than me."

"Why would you help me?" It wasn't that Steve didn't trust Germans. It was that he didn't trust Germans in a Hydra base offering him help. He considered it highly unlikely that this man would count himself a friend of the Allies.

"I am a prisoner in my own castle, but I am still free to walk the halls. I can get you to the center of the operation. I can get you to Hydra's secret weapon."

"You still haven't answered my question."

"Suspicious you Americans. I do not want these experiments going on in my castle," he elaborated. "It is time they learned that they do not belong here."

"So I get the Hydra soldiers out of your castle and destroy their research and you get your castle back, is that how this works?" He frowned. It bothered him that he couldn't see Zemo's face. The purple veil moved ever so slightly as Zemo took a step forward, but only the faintest outline of features could be seen. Steve took a step back on impulse. He didn't trust this man, but he couldn't deny that he wanted Hydra's research destroyed.

"That sounds like the sum of it to me. Shall we begin?" He said, bringing the tips of his fingers together.

"Where do I go?"

"At the very center of the castle lies a courtyard. This is where they receive deliveries – equipment and supplies. You take the doors to the right and you will find yourself at the very center of the operation. Destroy this and you destroy Hydra – at least here in this castle. I will send out my own special weapon to take care of the soldiers. They will not stand a chance."

"How do I get to the courtyard?"

"I hope you have a good memory. Right and then left, right again then straight, up the stairs, around the bend and through the doors on the right. Down the stairs and to the left until you come to a set of doors. There you will find the courtyard. Be careful."

"How do I know you're not going to send Hydra soldiers after me the second I leave this room?" Steve asked.

"You don't." He held out a hand to Steve, and he saw that there was a small device sitting there. "You will need this. Once you turn it on, it will detonate in ten seconds. Good luck, Captain." He stood still as Steve took the bomb and skirted around him, instructions thrumming around in his memory.

He was halfway through the instructions when he realized he hadn't told Zemo who he was and yet he had called him 'Captain.' He supposed a Hydra soldier could have told him, but if he was a prisoner why would they tell him anything? He shook the thought from his head, focusing on the task at hand. He hoped that the others had managed to take out the other two cannons. He'd given them a rendezvous point to meet at and then they'd radio in their success. He wasn't sure what Zemo had meant about his own secret weapon, but he knew it couldn't hurt to be careful. When he came to the doors that lead out to the courtyard, he carefully pushed them open. Large metal containers like the kind that were carried on trains lay strewn about the yard. Some held ammunitions, others explosives. Steve darted behind one to get a better look at the courtyard.

A fountain lay in the very center but the water was dry and the stone rim cracked. A few soldiers stood guard, shuffling around nervously. Steve could tell they were new recruits by the way they clutched their weapons as if their lives depended on it and the way their helmets were just a little too big or a little too crooked on their heads. For half a moment he felt sorry for them, but the Hydra insignia blared on the front of their uniforms, and he realized they'd chosen this path. His eyes searched out the doors on the right. Currently the guards were facing the door, so his chances of getting there unseen were pretty slim. If he could distract them though… A well-trained soldier would stick to his post no matter what, but these recruits would probably group together to investigate a threat. He reached down and grabbed a solid stone. Through the open cargo hold, he could see a stack of crates on the other side of the courtyard. He took aim and threw the stone as hard as he could. It splintered one of the crates and hit the side of one of the cargo holds, echoing loudly and leaving a large dent. The guards all jumped to attention, speaking to each other in rapid German. He peered around the side and saw that their attention was solely on the sound. He took the chance to dart across to the right, sneaking around the back of another cargo hold. Another stack of crates afforded him cover. By now all the guards had gathered around the spot where the rock had landed. Steve walked silently to the doors and put his hand on the handle. He saw one of the soldiers lean down and pick up the stone. He slid into the doors and found himself in a long corridor that led straight up a set of stairs. An elaborate set of doors ended the corridor, and he realized that this must be his destination.

He took a deep breath and pushed the doors open. Beyond the doors were innumerable machines each glowing blue with the mysterious energy Hydra had managed to harness. Steve slipped behind one of the machines to get a closer look. Several Hydra guards strode down the aisles between the equipment and frightened looking workers. The workers weren't POWs, he realized, but villagers, most likely snatched from their homes. They had been set to work creating Hydra weapons. Steve looked around for a way to shut down the operation and get the prisoners out. There were eight guards and nearly thirty villagers but no one was standing up to the Hydra guards. Steve saw fear flickering behind their eyes.

He'd need to take out the guards and get the prisoners to safety before setting off the bomb Zemo had given him. He checked the guards' positions and formed a plan in his mind. He readjusted his shield and moved along the edge of the room until he was directly behind one of the guards. One of the workers caught sight of him in that moment, eyes widening. Steve put a finger against his lips and the worker gave the smallest nod to show he understood. He went back to his work. Steve took a step forward, balancing his weight so as not to make a sound. He grabbed the guard from behind and pressed on his windpipes until he lost consciousness and laid the body on the floor. He moved onto the next, punching him hard enough to knock him out. By now he'd been seen and the Hydra guards cried out in alarm. They rushed at him, and he readied himself. The first he thrust aside with his shield, knocking him back into the others. They struggled to regain their balance, but he didn't give them a chance. He struck out left and right with his shield, and it clanged as it met with the soldiers' helmeted heads. A few of the soldiers were thrown backwards into equipment causing sparks as parts of the machines broke.

One of the soldiers fell back and began to fire at Steve. He thrust his shield up and the bullets bounced off. He rushed the firing soldier, knocking the gun from his grip. "Get out of here," he called to the workers, nodding to the door as he took down the last guard. They didn't need telling twice. After the last of them had left the room, Steve pulled out the bomb and placed it on one of the machines in the center of the room. He pressed the button on the top of the device and it started beeping. He turned and ran. The explosion rocked the castle, sending the doors flying off their hinges. Steve ducked, holding his shield out to protect him from the heat. One of the doors flew over his head and struck the wall, splintering against the stone. If they didn't know the castle was being infiltrated before, they definitely did now.

He needed to find the others now. He wound his way through the corridors, keeping a sharp eye out for Hydra soldiers. He realized after a time that he was hopelessly lost. The Serum had given him an advanced memory making it easier for him to remember small details, but he had no sense of direction in this monolithic castle. He finally found himself in a narrow corridor that led past several portraits. Former occupants of the castle? A door at the end of the corridor led him into what appeared to be a study. This wasn't where he needed to go. He turned around to leave and his shield arm struck a bust on the edge of the desk. He reached out instinctively to catch it but instead of falling off the desk it simply fell forward as if on hinges. A panel in the wall slid open. Curiosity got the better of Steve, and he entered another room. It was a lab he realized. A secret lab? There was nothing of Hydra here but it had definitely been used recently. He went to take a closer look at the research and saw a brown folder labeled: _Research of Baron Heinrich Zemo, Compound X. _He flipped the folder open and scanned the notes.

"Ah, I see you've found my research."

Steve turned around to find Zemo standing in the doorway. He still wore the purple veil over his face and now held a long saber like the one you might find on a coat of arms. Steve tensed. "What is it?" he asked.

"My research? Ah, that is my life's work. A compound to make one immortal."

"Impossible."

"Is it? How unimaginative of you after all Doctor Erskine did for you." He clicked his tongue in disapproval.

"How do you know about that?"

"Everyone knows of his research. It was easy to put two and two together. How kind it as of you to get rid of those pesky Hydra weapons. They were such a nuisance with all their noise and clattering. They have no idea of what they're dealing with."

"It's done, Zemo. Now let me finish my mission." Zemo didn't move from the doorway.

"I think not. I can't have Captain America slipping out from under my fingers. Red Skull will not look kindly on me if I let you escape."

"But he'll look kindly on you for destroying his weapons?"

Zemo shrugged. "You destroyed his weapons, not me."

"Don't test me, Zemo. I don't want to fight you."

"Oh but I do." He held out his sword. "A shield is no weapon," he told Steve taking a step forward. "It is something to hide behind."

"Well it's not a fair fight if you have that," Steve said nodding to the sword.

"No? Well, I suppose not. I never was one for following rules." With that he swung the sword at Steve in a wide arc. Steve brought his shield up to deflect the blow and the resounding clang echoed through the room. In the onslaught that followed, Steve could only block the blows to protect himself. Zemo didn't give him a chance to retaliate. He was clearly a skilled swordsman, and Steve realized he was getting backed into a corner. In desperation, he thrust forward, knocking Zemo back a few paces.

"Is that all you have?" Zemo asked in a mocking voice. "I'm disappointed but not surprised."

Steve swung the shield at him. Zemo blocked with the blade. Steve pushed back, trying desperately to get a hit in. Then Zemo feinted, and Steve wasn't quick enough to bring his shield up. The sword sliced his right arm, and he could feel warm blood soaking through his uniform. He couldn't seem to gain the upper hand. Finally he realized he was going to have to cheat. While Zemo was preoccupied slashing at the front of the shield, Steve hooked a boot behind Zemo's right leg and yanked. The baron went down, caught off guard. Steve brought his shield down on his hand, and Zemo released the sword with a hiss. Steve kicked it across the room.

"Ah, I see you have learned something from me after all," Zemo said.

"I don't have time for this."

"Are you going to kill me, Captain?"

"No. I'm not, but I am going to destroy this castle. Hydra's poison has spread too far." He got up, leaving Zemo on the floor. "I suggest you don't get in my way."

He had only gone two steps when he heard Zemo scramble for his sword. He spun on his feet and hurled the shield at him. It struck Zemo in the head, and he fell, unconscious, to the floor. "I warned you," Steve said in a low voice. He turned to leave but then hesitated for a moment before kneeling next to Zemo's prone body. Curiosity got the better of him, and he lifted the purple veil.

Zemo's face was wizened and pocked as if he had barely survived some sickness. Age and disease was taking him. He was clearly desperate to gain immortality, and it looked as if his time was running out. Steve let the veil drop and turned to leave.

When he finally found his way back to the front of the castle, the Howling Commandos were already waiting there looking anxious. Bucky ran up to him. "Where were you, Steve? We were about to call out a search party."

"Sorry. I got sidetracked. We need to get any prisoners out and blow the place. Hydra's too entrenched."

"A group of locals ran past awhile ago. Said some guy in a spangly outfit set them free. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" Bucky gave him a sly grin. "They said they were the only prisoners. Hydra was bringing in more, but they hadn't arrived yet."

"Then let's blow this place to kingdom come," Steve said pulling out his radio. He contacted the air support and gave instructions. "Okay, let's get out of here."

They were a safe distance from the castle when the planes dropped their bombs. The resulting explosion shook the ground. It didn't take long for the entire castle to ignite. Then Steve saw someone moving in the flames. A man stepped out of the burning front doors. His eyes found Steve though Steve could not see his face behind the veil.

Zemo.

"I will have my revenge, Captain!" Zemo shouted above the sound of the hungry flames. "You will pay for what you have done. My life's work! I did not ask you to destroy it."

"Who is that?" Bucky asked from Steve's side, peering curiously at the shouting Zemo.

"Baron Zemo. This is his castle."

"That would explain the shouting. Where did he go?" Bucky's eyes scanned the front of the castle.

Steve peered into the falling darkness but though the flames lit up the sky like a monstrous bonfire, he could see no traces of Zemo. It was as if he had vanished, leaving his castle to burn in his stead. He had made one thing clear though; he wanted revenge.


	31. The Face of Evil

**Author's Note: **Alright, here we go! Thank you for the comments I've been getting! Even a 'please update soon!' keeps me motivated to keep posting and writing! Things are going to get a little tense here. I had fun writing this chapter. Because I love chaos. Mwahaha!

And it's time for hints for the next part in Aspen and Steve's story! The third part in my series will be titled _A Game of Winter_. Which in and of itself gives you some hints toward the content!

Feel free to leave a review, and thank you as always for reading!

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**27 – The Face of Evil – June 18th, 2012**

"Isn't that what they always say in the movies?" Zemo stood, and Steve readied himself for a fight. He wished he could get Aspen to leave, but he knew she never would. Instead he forced himself to focus on Zemo. "Ah, but you wouldn't know. You missed a few years."

"I guess you finished your compound after all."

"It has lengthened my life considerably yes, but I find myself growing bored." He waved a hand in the air.

"So you're doing all this because you're bored?"

"If you had lived as long as I have, you would be bored too. You're just beginning your life again. You're still so young."

"What do you want with me, Zemo? Revenge? After all these years?"

"It's never too late for revenge. I couldn't very well take it when you were frozen somewhere in the Arctic. When I heard that they had found your body though… I had hoped you would survive so that we could meet again, and here you are. You even brought friends."

Steve moved in front of Aspen, and Zemo chuckled. "I'm not sure she appreciates your protectiveness," he said. "She finds it overbearing. I wonder how long this will last, the two of you. Ah, yes, I saw the way she threw herself at you after rescuing you. Clearly you mean a great deal to her, but she will eventually grow bored. We all do."

"That's not true," Aspen said sharply. She moved to Steve's side again, and he fought back the urge to shield her again.

"Quit manipulating us," Steve said. Zemo smiled, the curve of his lips just visible behind the veil.

"It only works if you let it," Zemo said silkily.

"What do you want with me?" Steve asked again.

"I want your strength, your speed and agility, your influence," Zemo said, slamming his hand down on the table. "I may be immortal, but I am old in my bones. Old weaknesses, old injuries… I'm not what I once was. Scarred beyond recognition. Oh, but you don't see, do you? Let me show you." He pulled back the veil, exposing his scarred face. Most of the scars were burns. One eye was milky white, nearly swollen shut beneath his puckered skin. His remaining eye was a clear shade of blue that seemed hardly human. He sneered. "I did not survive all these years as well as you did. I want to see your years striped away, your powers and your strengths. I want to see you suffer as I did, burn as I did."

"Whatever you want to do to me, leave my friends out of it," Steve growled.

"But don't you see?" Zemo asked. "Making them suffer will make it worse for you."

"And how do you propose you do that?" Steve asked. "There's nothing keeping us here."

Zemo laughed cruelly. "You don't think I really kept my castle so unprotected, did you? Outside this room are two dozen highly trained guards and somewhere in this castle Trickshot has your archer friend. Do you really want to test me?"

"You have no idea what you're playing with," Steve told him, trying to formulate a plan in his head. "I'm not sure you really want to test us."

"First you can watch her die." He pulled a gun out from behind his back and aimed it at Aspen. Steve realized that Aspen was in full range of the shot having moved a few feet to his right. Before Zemo had the chance to pull the trigger however, Steve put his hands on the end of the long table and thrust it toward Zemo with all his might. The table shot forward, hitting Zemo in the gut. The gun arm flew upward and the shot took some plaster down from the ceiling. Zemo's eyes widened as his body was propelled backwards through the window, shattering the glass.

The last Steve saw of him was his wide-open eyes as he realized he had lost. Wagner rushed to the window, and Steve resisted the urge to push him out too.

"That was easier than expected," Aspen said, breaking the silence.

"You!" Wagner turned to them. "You!" That's when Aspen shot him with her dart gun. He fell to the floor in a heap.

"We've still got two dozen guards outside these doors. I'm surprised they haven't come bursting-" He cut off as the doors splintered open. Clearly the doors had locked behind them when they'd entered the room. It was also clear that the guards had heard the breaking glass. Steve raised his shield, and Aspen pulled out her second dart gun. The first guard went flying as Steve struck out with his shield. Six more fell with darts in their necks. Aspen gave him a sly smile as they fought on. When all twenty-four guards lay unconscious around their feet, Aspen looked over at Steve.

"Huh," she said. "That wasn't much of a test."

"Clearly he'd never seen your dart guns in action." Something nagged at the back of his mind. That _had_ been easy. What if it wasn't over?

Aspen walked over to Wagner. "We should take him with us. He might have some valuable information if we can get him to talk." She took out some thin cord from her belt and tied his hands behind his back. "He can think of superhero names for me in solitary confinement. Now we need to go find Clint before he gets himself into trouble."

Steve followed Aspen out of the room, treading carefully around the prone bodies. Steve was wondering how they were going to find Clint when they heard shouting and a loud crash from below. They exchanged a glace and sprinted toward the staircase ahead.

The front hall of the castle was a mess. Vases lay in shards and pictures had fallen to the floor and shattered. Barney and Clint were locked in a struggle that did not seem to be going well for Clint. His lip was bleeding and his face sporting bruises that were already beginning to darken. His muscular arms strained as he wrestled with Barney. Their bows lay discarded on the ground a few feet away. Barney had no injuries, and Steve realized Clint was trying to spare him.

Aspen sighed and aimed her dart gun before pulling the trigger. The dart flew across the room and deftly hit Barney's neck. Instead of falling to the ground, out cold, he tore the dart from his neck and looked straight at them. The family resemblance was striking. Though his hair was a bronzy red rather than dark blonde, he had the same blue-grey eyes as Clint. Right now there was nothing remotely friendly in those eyes.

Clint took advantage of the distraction and thrust his fist into the side of Barney's face. He shook out his hand as Barney slumped to the floor.

"Great, glad that was so easy," Aspen said, studying Clint's face.

Clint wiped a drop of blood off his chin. "Well, what were you two doing this whole time? Canoodling in some dark passageway?" Steve felt his cheeks grow warm.

Aspen gave Clint a deathly glare. "I would slap you if you weren't already bruised to hell," she snapped. "For your information, while you were serving as a personal punching bag, we were escaping imprisonment, dealing with madmen, fighting two dozen guards, and, oh, yeah, throwing Zemo out a third story window."

Clint stared at her. "Zemo's dead?"

"Well, I'm thinking he didn't survive that fall unless he's made of jelly or sprouted wings." Steve could tell Aspen was just getting warmed up.

"Wagner?"

"Tied up and ready to be delivered," Steve put in before Aspen could start in on Clint again.

"Told you you could handle this," Clint threw at Aspen. Aspen muttered angrily under her breath, and Clint grinned at her. "Come on, we need to get out of here."

"I am _not_ carrying anyone to the quinjet," Aspen said, putting her hands on her hips.

"I'll just go get the jet then and park it on the front lawn, shall I? No one will notice."

"Who care if anyone notices? Eventually someone is going to notice something!"

Clint sighed loudly.

"What about the artifacts?" Steve asked. "There are an awful lot of things in there that SHIELD would be interested in." Clint sighed again.

"You're going to have to call in a team," Aspen said. "And no, I am _not_ carrying all that onto the jet! You parked it up a freaking mountain!"

"The guards are all going to wake up before SHIELD can get here," Steve pointed out.

"There are so many holes in this plan, I'm surprised it hasn't sprung a leak," Aspen grumbled. Clint threw her a glare.

"Then we lock them up," he told Steve.

"I can barricade the doors and tie them up," Steve said. "Unless they want to scale three stories, they're not getting out."

"I'll get the jet," Clint said resignedly.

"I'll guard Barney," Aspen told them.

"You sure? If he wakes up… If your darts don't work, my tranqs won't."

"Then I knock him in the head," Aspen said. "Go. Both of you."

"Since when did you start giving orders?" But Clint didn't look mad.

"Take this at least." Steve handed over his shield.

"Why?" She gave him a puzzled look.

"For if he wakes up."

"Let's not give him a concussion," Clint threw over his shoulder.

"Be careful," Steve told Aspen. He left her standing, hands on his shield, ready to incapacitate Barney again if need be.

Before dragging an enormous cabinet against the broken doors of the dining room, Steve pulled Wagner from the room and used cord to tie each guard to the heavy oak chairs that lay around the table. A cool breeze ruffled his hair, and he felt himself drawn to the window. The calmness outside was such a stark contrast to what they had just been through. He could see the village behind a line of trees. If Clint employed the quinjet shields they might manage to avoid notice after all. He looked down and saw Zemo's body lying prone on the ground below. The purple veil fluttered in the breeze. He frowned, unable to shake the feeling that they were missing something.

Back in the hall, he dragged the heavy cabinet in front of the doors. He'd already relieved the guards of their weapons. Now he shouldered Wagner's unconscious body and headed down to the front hall again. Aspen was sitting next to Barney, the shield rested up against her knees. She'd taken the liberty of tying Barney's hands behind his back. Steve set Wagner's body down next to him.

Aspen stifled a yawn. "I'm taking a long nap after this," she told Steve. "Preferably wrapped in your arms." She gave him a coy smile.

Steve's cheeks warned though there was no reason for it. He crossed his arms, something he tended to do when he was uncomfortable or flustered. He'd started noticing this habit after Aspen had pointed it out to him. He still didn't know how to respond to Aspen's flirtations but she never seemed to expect a response. Either that or her grin would widen as she listened to him stutter out a response.

The sound of the quinjet arriving saved him from responding. They went out on the front steps of the castle to meet Clint, opening the castle doors wide.

"I called for backup," Clint said. "An artifacts team is coming to collect the items."

"My old job," Aspen said. "I'm not going to miss sorting through potentially dangerous items like that."

"Are the guards secure?" Clint asked, turning to Steve.

"Tied up and the door bared," he said. "They were still out cold thanks to Aspen's darts."

"I took the liberty of shooting the ones you knocked out too," she said in response.

"My brother?" Clint asked.

"Tied up and still unconscious," Aspen said, turning to look back into the hall. Her eyes widened at the same moment Clint shouted, "Watch out!"

Steve turned around in enough time to see Barney standing, untied and holding a gun. His bonds lay on the ground at his feet. The next moment Aspen lurched. Steve looked down to see blood soaking through her shirt. She stood for a moment, placing a hand against her side. It came away red.

"No!" Steve caught Aspen as she fell, eyes going distant. She slumped into his arms. "Aspen! Stay with me!"

Clint was staring at her in horror. "Do something!" Steve shouted at him. Clint brought his bow up with reflexive speed aiming at Barney's legs, but Barney dodged the arrow with ease, disappearing into the castle. Clint made to take after him, but Steve shouted, "She needs help now or she's going to bleed out! Leave him!"

Clint stared after Barney for a second longer. "Damnit!" He kicked the doorframe. "Get her up," he said.

Steve carefully pulled Aspen into his arms. He needed to put pressure on the wound or she was going to lose too much blood. "We need to take her into the village to get help," he told Clint.

Clint swore again. "Come on," he said. "We'll find a doctor."

Steve went as quickly as he could go, careful not to jostle Aspen too much. The village came into view, and Clint ran ahead to find a doctor. People stared as they passed through. Steve was sure the sight of a bruised and battered archer and a man holding a bleeding girl and wearing a shield on his back was quite the sight, but right now he didn't care. Right now all that mattered was saving Aspen. Her blood had soaked into the front of his shirt making it look as if he'd been shot too.

"Here!" Clint yelled, holding the door to a doctor's office open. Steve entered, Clint on his heels. A startled looking assistant at the front desk shot to her feet when they entered.

"She's been shot. She needs help," Steve told the frightened looking girl. He didn't know if she understood English, but she understood that they needed help.

"This way," she said in a thick Austrian accent.

Steve followed her through a set of doors and down a corridor. She motioned them into a room with an operation table and hurried out of the room presumably to find a doctor. "Stay with me, Aspen," Steve pleaded with her. Her face was very pale, and he feared she'd lost too much blood. He gently laid her on the table. A doctor and three assistants entered a moment later.

"What has happened?" the doctor asked. He brushed past Steve and Clint.

"She's been shot," Steve said though that was pretty clear from the bullet wound.

"How long?" The doctor was calm. Much calmer than Steve felt.

"A few minutes."

"I will tend her. If you will wait outside." When Steve didn't move he added, "Please. We need to operate now if we are to save her."

Steve didn't want to leave her, but he knew the doctor was right. He bent down and kissed her head. "I'll be here, Aspen. Just hang on." He and Clint backed from the room as the doctors stripped the blood-soaked shirt off of her to expose the wound.

"You can wait out here," the woman from the front desk said in stilted English. "They will let you know what happens."

Steve and Clint grudgingly followed her, taking a seat in the front office. If she thought it was strange when Steve leaned his shield up against the wall or Clint his bow, she didn't say so. The minutes passed like hours, and Steve had never felt so frightened.

…

"Just hang on." Aspen heard the words over and over in her head. The blackness consumed her completely, but she still hung onto those words. _Steve_, she tried to say. _I'm right here. I'm not leaving you_. But she couldn't form the words, couldn't move. After awhile even the words faded leaving her with nothing.

…

Steve sat with his head in his hands. It seemed like it had been ages since they had started the operation. He couldn't stand the thought of that bullet ripping through Aspen, tearing apart her skin. Now the doctors would be cutting into her to remove the bullet. What if she didn't make it? He had no way of knowing if the bullet had hit any internal organs. Panic began to set in. What if he didn't even get to say goodbye? What would he even do without Aspen? She was everything to him. Just a few minutes before she'd been telling him she wanted to fall asleep in his arms.

"I can't believe Barney shot her," Clint said, breaking the silence.

Steve looked over at him. "I can," he said sharply. Now he felt his sorrow turning into anger. It boiled up quickly. Clint had dragged them into this unauthorized mission. "Barney doesn't remember who he is. He's a criminal. He wouldn't think twice about killing any of us, even you. Aspen was just the unlucky recipient of his bullet."

"He didn't know what he was doing."

"You're actually defending him? Justifying his behavior?" Steve asked in disbelief. Clint was staring at the floor. Steve stood abruptly and began to pace. The girl behind the desk sunk lower behind her computer monitor. "He shot Aspen, Clint. Or did you miss that?"

"I know. I saw it. God, I hope she's all right. This is all my fault."

"You're damn right, it is."

Clint finally looked up at Steve. "You're blaming me for her getting shot."

Steve laughed in disbelief. "Yeah, I am. You dragged her into this mission. You knew it was dangerous and that Barney was unpredictable."

"It's part of the job. People get hurt everyday."

"Part of the job?" Steve stared at him. "Clint, Aspen could _die_. How is that 'part of the job?' Our job is to look out for her!"

"She doesn't need anyone to look out for her."

"Then why is she lying on an operation table?" Steve asked. He realized he was shouting. He took a deep breath to calm himself. He knew pointing fingers wasn't going to solve anything but it sure as hell felt good.

"Because shit like this happens to good people," Clint told him. "Just like it happened to my brother. Maybe you don't have a family to fight for, but I do. I'm sorry Aspen got shot. If I had known Barney would do that, that it would happen, I would have kept her miles away. But are you gonna be the one to tell her to stay home and sit tight while we go on missions? She chose this life, Steve. She knew the risks. She's a fighter though. She's going to make it."

Steve tried to calm himself, sitting back down. "Sorry," he said softly after a moment. "This isn't your fault, and it's not right for me to blame you."

"No, it is my fault. If she…if she doesn't make it…" Clint shook his head. "I'll never forgive myself."

They lapsed into silence. Waiting was torture. Steve had no idea how bad the wound was. He could only sit and hope that she would be okay. When the doctor finally stepped into the waiting room, Steve and Clint were so caught up in their own thoughts that they didn't notice him at first. Then he cleared his voice and they jumped to their feet, looking at him with expectant eyes. Steve's heart was racing, and he suddenly found it hard to breathe. He was scared to hear the words the doctor would say. He couldn't read his expression. Surely he'd be smiling if the operation was successful? The suspense drew out even though Steve knew it had only been a few seconds. Then the doctor opened his mouth and gave them the news.


	32. Recovery

**Author's Note: **What, you guys don't like cliffhangers? Okay, I admit, that _was_ pretty evil. I promise to make it up to you though! Thanks for your comments!

Alright, next hint. Since _A Game of Winter_ doesn't have much of a plot yet, I will give you a hint about my 1940s fanfic which will be coming out in between this one and the next. It is called _A Game of War_ and starts out with pre-serum Steve. We get to see a lot of the Howling Commandos missions, and Bucky will play a prominent role! (Oh, I just realized I haven't designed a cover for that one yet! Oh boy, I love photoshopping covers!)

So this has nothing to do with this story but I just have to share because I'm so excited! I got this new archery target at Walmart today that is a big foam block with targets on either side! I'm so excited to try it! Much better than the file box stuffed with insulation with the hand-drawn target taped over it! My arrows kept going through a big hole in the middle today and hitting the metal lawn chair backing the box. That resulted in a loud noise and two blunted arrow tips. I also lost a fletching... Sheesh. But I did do pretty well otherwise. Not as well as Clint by any means. Maybe someday...

* * *

**28 – Recovery – June 19th, 2012**

Aspen's eyes fluttered open. The steady beep of a heart monitor filled the air, and she realized right away that she was in a hospital room. The second thing she noticed was Steve sitting slumped next to her in a chair. His head was on his arms which rested on the side of the bed. He looked exhausted. He'd changed into a different shirt, but his hair was a mess. He'd never looked so beautiful to her though.

"Finally," a voice said from the doorway. Aspen looked up to see Clint leaning there. He looked equally haggard, his eyes rimmed with red, his shoulders slumped. "Thought you were a goner for awhile."

"Yeah, well you did a pretty good job of trying to get me killed." There was a tense silence, and then Aspen smiled. "But I still love you anyway."

She saw the tension leave Clint's shoulders. "I am so sorry, Aspen," he said. "I never meant for you to get hurt but what do I expect when I arrange impromptu, ill-planned missions like this? Fury's going to have my ass."

"I'm sure it will make a nice addition to his collection," Aspen said with a smirk.

"SHIELD came and picked up the artifacts and took Wagner. He wasn't happy to see them."

"And Barney?"

Clint frowned. "Gone. Vanished." He sighed. "This was all a very bad idea."

"We all have them. Remember the time I invited a demi-god home and then forgot to mention it?"

"Only too well."

"We'll find him."

Clint looked up at her in surprise. "Really? You're still in even after he shot you?"

"Of course. He's your brother. I mean, clearly he has some memory loss issues he'll need to sort out, but still."

"You don't have to do that, Pen."

"I know, but I want to." She gave him a smile. "Now go get some sleep, you look terrible." She made a face at him which he returned with a shake of his head.

"Glad to have you back," he said before leaving the room.

Aspen looked down at Steve and ran a hand through his hair. It was soft and slightly damp as if he'd just come out of the shower. He stirred as she touched his cheek. He looked so young when he slept, not that he looked old when he was awake but rather his eyes held so much certainty and experience that Aspen couldn't help but remember all he had been through already in his life. Now he looked like a simple twenty-six year old man and not the Super Soldier who had lived through World War II.

His eyes fluttered open, and he lifted his head to look at her. The life that lit them up when he saw that she was awake made her heart give a happy jump. "You're awake," he said groggily. "I was so worried. I thought I'd lost you."

"Not that easily," Aspen told him. "A bullet isn't enough to stop me." She gave him a smile. "You look exhausted. Have you even slept before just now?"

"I did for a few minutes in the waiting room when the doctors wouldn't let me stay here. Otherwise I've been here waiting for you to wake up."

"I'm sorry I scared you," she whispered. "I heard your voice, you know. It kept me going."

Steve took her hand, and his warmth spread through her. "I thought I was going to lose you without having said goodbye or telling you how much you mean to me," he said, and she could hear the heartbreak behind his words. "I thought I was never going to get the chance to tell you that I love you," he added softly, looking straight into her eyes.

For a moment she couldn't breathe. "You-"

"I love you, Aspen," he said without blushing, though the warmth in his eyes made her flush.

Her face broke into a smile. "Will you kiss me now?" she asked. He smiled back at her and leaned down to kiss her, a soft, lingering kiss. "I love you too," she said against his lips.

…

As it turned out, Aspen had been asleep for a full day. The painkillers kept her sleepy but the only pain she could feel was a slight soreness in her side. She asked Steve when they were going home, and he told her soon. The bullet wound hadn't hit anything vital, but she needed rest to heal. She just longed to be back home in her apartment. She'd finally insisted Steve go get some proper sleep and though he'd argued he wanted to stay, she'd finally won. She'd fallen in and out of consciousness, somewhat aware of nurses coming to check in on her every once in awhile. Finally the next morning her bandages were changed, and she was given a clean set of clothes to wear.

"Rest and recovery is what you need," the doctor told her. "No more running around and getting shot."

Aspen smiled. "I'll try to keep a low profile," she said.

"Perhaps a short holiday is in order," he suggested.

"I'm not sure I know what that word even means," Aspen said with a sigh.

When Steve and Clint came to retrieve her, they both looked better rested. Clint's face was still a mess, but it lit up in a wide smile when he saw her on her own feet. "You don't look half bad," he told her.

"Better than you."

He pulled her into a hug, careful not to squeeze her side. "Good to have you back, Pen."

"Good to be back among the living."

Steve put an arm around her uninjured waist to help her out of the room. His shield was strapped on his back, and he was once again dressed in his mission clothes though any blood had been washed out of the shirt.

"Thank you for everything," Aspen said warmly to the doctors and the woman at the front desk. "I owe you my life."

"A pleasure," the doctor said. "Goodbye."

As they came out onto the street, Aspen noticed that the people around them stopped to stare. They began to whisper, and she heard the words "Kapitän Amerika." She smiled.

"So much for keeping a low profile," she said to Steve.

"I think we might have blown that when we came running into town carrying your bloody body," Clint said.

"Yeah, I can see how that might have drawn a crowd."

A few of the people waved, and Aspen heard another set of words whispered. "Madam Amerika." She didn't need a translator to understand those words. She looked back in surprise at the woman who had uttered those words. The woman smiled and waved. Aspen gave a shy wave back.

"Do you hear what they're saying?" Clint asked. "They just called you 'Lady America.' You're a hero now too." He was grinning.

Aspen rolled her eyes. "Please," she said. "I'm hardly worthy of a title." She would never tell Clint, but secretly she was pleased by the name. Lady America. She could live with that.

…

She slept for most of the ride, huddled under a blanket on the quinjet seats, her head in Steve's lap. The residual effect of the painkillers made her sleepy though she was tired of sleeping. The next thing she knew when she woke up was that she was in a bed – not her own though. The downy white sheets were crisper and smelled sweetly of lemons and vanilla. Light streamed into the room from a huge picture window. Cream sheer curtains waved in the breeze of the open window. For a moment she thought perhaps she'd died after all, but then she heard someone approaching. She turned her head and saw Steve entering the room carrying a paper bag. He smiled when he saw she was awake and set the bag down on a little table across from the bed. He came over and sat next to her.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Fine. Where are we?" She sat up, wincing as her side twinged a bit.

"Well, Clint insisted that you needed time to recover and that he owned us a huge favor after the way things went in Austria. So he paid for a room here. We have a couple days, and then we'll fly back to New York."

"Where's 'here' though?" Aspen peered out the window, but all she could see was the morning sun.

"Paris."

"Paris?" She turned and looked back at Steve. "We're in Paris as in France?"

He nodded. "He also mentioned that this was part one of an extensive birthday plan he has for you. Although he said the rest would have to wait until he sorted his mess out."

"Is it the 21st?" Aspen asked dazedly. She hadn't even thought about her birthday considering the chaos that had taken over their lives the past few days.

"It is. I got you something." He handed her a flat box that had been resting on the nightstand.

"You didn't have to get me anything," she protested.

"I wanted to. Open it."

She tore at the ribbon and then the paper wrapping. When she pulled the lid off the box, she found a small sketchpad and a set of drawing pencils.

"You were talking about wishing you had time for hobbies and I remember you mentioning wanting to learn how to draw, so when I saw this…"

"It's perfect!" Aspen said, pulling the pencils out to study them closer. "Thank you." She set the box back on the table and pulled him closer to kiss him. His skin was soft under her hand, and she felt the warmth of the sun on it.

"You're welcome," he said when they pulled apart. "I also got you a pastry from the market. I thought you might be hungry."

He grabbed the paper bag and handed it to her. Aspen grinned. "Breakfast in bed in Paris? I feel spoiled." She pulled out a flaky croissant that was still warm. "Did Clint go back to New York?"

"Yeah, he said something about needing to plead for forgiveness on his knees. I'm thinking Fury isn't too happy with him right now."

"I'm sure he's not. I just hope he won't keep Clint from going after his brother again. If he was my family I'd never give up."

"I'm not sure what will happen," Steve said. "Either way, I don't think he's going to be leading us on missions anymore."

"Really?"

"He didn't seem to think so. It sounded like he was going to petition to Fury to let him go after Barney again."

Aspen sighed. "This really did turn into a huge mess. He and I both seem to have an affinity for causing messes."

"But you're also good about cleaning them up." Aspen laughed. "What?" he asked with a smile.

"I'm just picturing handing Loki a broom and telling him to clean up New York." Steve chuckled at this. "So do I get to get out of bed or am I supposed to stay here until I heal?" she asked when she'd finished the croissant.

"The doctor said your wound was healing nicely. I don't see why you couldn't walk around a little as long as you don't overexert yourself."

"I want to see the city," she told him. "I'll be fine."

"Okay then." He stood. "I'll give you some time to get ready." He stood, and Aspen pushed the blankets back, carefully heaving herself to her feet. Her side was still a bit sore, but she was determined not to let that keep her bed-ridden. She grabbed a spare pair of clothes from her bag and entered the huge bathroom.

Ten minutes later she was clean and dressed in something other than her mission clothes. She pulled her hair back in a ponytail. It had gotten longer in the last few months, and the blonde was beginning to fade. She looked pale, but she had lost a lot of blood in the last few days. She rubbed her cheeks and left the room. Steve was standing by the window looking down on the city. On an impulse, Aspen came up behind him, putting her arms around him and resting her head against his back. He tensed for a moment but then relaxed.

"Last time I was in this city was during the French Resistance," he told her. "Which really dates me."

Aspen laughed. "You know I don't hold that against you," she said. "Remind me again what the Resistance was. It's been awhile since high school history."

"During World War II the Germans occupied France. The Resistance was an effort to help the Allied army from behind the enemy line and to work against the Germans to free their city."

"Did you help free the city?"

"Well, not just me," he said. Aspen rolled her eyes at his modesty, but smiled. "The Invaders and I helped in August of 1944 when the Resistance came to a head. In the end the Germans surrendered, and Paris was liberated."

"That sounds exciting. I mean, you got to live some of these things that my generation can only read about in textbooks."

"It wasn't all excitement. A lot of good people died. A lot of innocents."

"Of course." Aspen moved so that she was next to him, keeping an arm loosely around his waist. "I can't even imagine how frightened the French people would have been to have their city occupied by an enemy force like the Nazis."

"They fought back in their own ways. Underground newspapers and guerilla warfare. They didn't just sit and take it."

"Will you show me some of the places you were back then?" Aspen asked.

Steve smiled and put his arm around her waist. "Of course."

…

"The Germans surrendered here," Steve said, pausing as they passed a beautiful hotel fronted with a line of archways and built of a sandy brick. "Hôtel Meurice. In 1944 it became headquarters to France's military governor who disobeyed Hitler's orders to flatten the city."

"Were you there for that?"

"I was."

"It must be so strange coming back after all this time."

"A little. Like the rest of the world it's changed." His blue eyes were distant, and she saw some regret reflected there before he turned back to her, smiling. He hid his emotions well, but she knew he was still adjusting even after three months of living in the 21st century. It would take years, she knew. Even then he'd still have that little bit of loneliness knowing that no one else could relate to what he'd been through. She entwined her fingers in his and smiled.

"Let's go see the Eifel Tower," she said. "And maybe get some lunch."

He nodded, the sadness clearing from his eyes. She noticed though that as they walked away, he glanced back at the hotel as if he was leaving a part of him behind.

…

The view from the top of the Eifel Tower was breathtaking beyond belief. Aspen couldn't take in everything fast enough. "I want a picture of this," she told Steve, pulling out her phone. "Of us." He put his arm around her as she snapped a shot of them. When she looked at the picture, she saw that her face was practically glowing. They looked so happy, so normal. It surprised her that they – Captain America and a smuggler turned SHIELD agent – could look so normal smiling brightly with the city of Paris behind them. She felt a surge of excitement. This was one of those moments she wanted to remember always. A moment when she had no fear of danger, no spark of unhappiness. She couldn't remember another moment quite like it.

"I can't believe we're standing here," she told Steve, walking over to the edge of the observatory. "It's surreal."

"It seems like since we met it's been excitement after excitement," he replied.

"New York, Portland, Iceland, Austria," Aspen listed. "I think we went on one date in that amount of time."

"Well consider this our second date," Steve said.

Aspen noticed several girls over his shoulder looking eagerly over at them. She gave Steve a sly smile. "Fan girls six o'clock." Steve frowned. "Don't look at them. Maybe they'll go away."

Steve looked distinctly uncomfortable, and Aspen suppressed a giggle. She shouldn't take pleasure in his discomfort, but the way the girls were batting their eyelashes was hilarious. "Kiss me," she said suddenly. "Maybe they'll think you're someone else or get uncomfortable and leave."

Steve ran a hand nervously through his hair, but then put a hand on her uninjured waist and pulled her into a deep kiss. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him back. She heard the girls behind them giggle, but she didn't pull away. Finally they broke apart and Aspen peered over Steve's shoulder. The girls had moved on. "They're gone," she whispered into his ear. When she pulled away, she noticed his cheeks were flushed. She smiled, liking that she had that effect on him. "And now we're alone," she added, gauging his reaction. He blinked and looked a little panicked. "Come on," she laughed. "Let's see the view from the other side." She took his hand, and he relaxed. She smiled to herself.

…

"That was the best birthday I've ever had, gun-shot wound aside," Aspen told Steve later that night as he came out of the bathroom dressed in his sleep clothes.

"I'm glad." He sat down on the bed next to her. "You deserved it."

"After my parents died, my aunt never made a big deal out of my birthday. Usually she was too drunk to even remember it."

"That's rough." He looked down at her, blue eyes sympathetic.

"I'm just glad those days are behind me." She stared up at the ceiling, feeling sleepy. They'd spent the rest of the day walking around or sitting in one of the beautiful parks in the city. Steve had sketched out a few of the scenes much to Aspen's delight. She'd even pulled out her own drawing set, but her pictures had looked laughable next to his. Tomorrow they were planning on visiting the Louvre before leaving the day after that. Steve turned off the lamps and lay down next to her. She felt comforted by his soft breathing next to her and the warmth of his body a few inches away.

"I gave the deed to the Sunflower House over to SHIELD," Aspen said after a few minutes. She hadn't had a chance to tell Steve her plans for her childhood home.

"Oh?" he sounded surprised.

"It's going to be a safe house so that no one ever has to feel as afraid as I did when we were on the run and my leg was injured."

"That's a great idea."

"My mom didn't like it at first. Said she didn't want SHIELD getting their hands on it, but it isn't for SHIELD, it's for people who need somewhere safe to go."

"Have you asked your mom if she'll work for SHIELD yet?" Steve asked her.

"I did. She said no, but I told her to think about it. Told her she could do a lot of good. I think she's just afraid that her work will fall into the wrong hands again. She still hasn't started looking for a way to get rid of the Superhero Serum. I keep asking, but she says she hasn't had a chance. I suppose everything has been chaotic, but I feel infected." She fingered the cuff around her wrist. "Even with this on."

"There's nothing wrong with you," Steve told her. His fingers touched her left wrist where the cuff rested. She took comfort in the touch. "You're perfect the way you are." He let his hand rest on her wrist, and Aspen felt herself drifting off, his words echoing in her head.


	33. Interrogation

**29 – Interrogation – June 23th, 2012**

Aspen was sad to leave the City of Lights behind as the jet took off. She watched the Eifel Tower disappear and turned to Steve who sat beside her. SHIELD had sent a private jet to take them back to New York and they had orders to come in the following day. Aspen was eager to talk to Clint and see what was happening. She knew Fury would be angry over Clint's impromptu mission, especially since she'd been wounded, and she knew both parties could be stubborn. She'd texted Clint asking what was happening in New York, but he'd only replied that she should relax and not worry about it.

It was a long flight, and Aspen was both antsy and tired by the end of it. When the SHIELD car dropped them off at Steve's apartment, they both made their way wearily up. Aspen dropped onto the couch, groaning at her cramped legs.

"I'll order pizza," Steve said, pulling out his phone.

"Order two. I feel like I could eat a whole one."

"You got it." While he ordered the pizza, Aspen contemplated whether or not she wanted to simply fall asleep on the couch after eating the pizza or drag herself into the bedroom. Right now the couch was feeling very comfortable. She hadn't realized she'd dozed off until there was a knock on the door. Steve accepted the pizza, and the smell of it gave Aspen her second wind.

"Do you think Fury will be mad at us?" she asked Steve as they sat down at the table to eat.

"Why would he be mad at us?" Steve asked.

"We went along with this mission."

"We didn't know Clint hadn't cleared it. Not right away."

"But we probably should have reported it."

"Don't worry about it," Steve said. "None of this is your fault. You did well on the mission. I can vouch for you."

"Thanks. Somehow the bullet in my side made me think I'd failed miserably."

"That wasn't your fault." Steve's tone deepened, and she knew he was feeling angry toward Barney for shooting her.

"It wasn't his fault either. Barney. He didn't know what he was doing."

"Yeah, he did. He doesn't remember that he's Clint's brother. Clint put us both in a lot of danger because of that."

"He just wants his brother back."

"It didn't mean he had to put you in that kind of danger." Steve refused to meet her eyes, and Aspen saw some underlying anger she hadn't seen before.

"You're pissed at Clint, aren't you?" she asked. He glanced up at her and the look in his eyes and the furrow in his brow told her she was right. "Steve-"

"He almost got you killed."

"But I'm fine. A little sore, but fine. Clint would never put me in harm's way. Not on purpose."

"I know he didn't do it on purpose, but he still did it. It was an ill-conceived mission that hadn't been planned. It didn't even work. Barney got away, and you got a bullet in your side."

"In my side. He wasn't aiming to kill. He needed a distraction so he could get away. He knew both you and Clint would stay and help me."

"Is that supposed to be a comfort?"

"Yeah, it is. It means Barney isn't just a cold-blooded killer."

"I never said he was."

"Look, I'm still a little mad at Clint too, but I'm not going to hold it against him." Steve said nothing, looking down at his plate. He'd hardly touched the pizza. "What happened after I passed out?" Aspen asked. "Something happened, didn't it?"

"After you passed out, I carried you into the village. It looked like you were going to bleed out. We found a doctor's office-"

"That's not what I meant, Steve. What happened between you and Clint?"

He frowned. "I confronted him when we were waiting to see if you were going to make it," he said. "I told him you were possibly dying because of him. He blamed himself too."

Aspen wasn't sure how to mend this. "He's going to blame himself for a long time. I know him. He doesn't let things go very easily. He might hide it well, but he's still messed up over New York. We all make mistakes. At least he was trying to save his brother. This wasn't just some foolhardy mission trying to recover artifacts."

Steve was silent, then he looked up at her, and she could see that some of the anger had faded. "I just need some time," he said. "Right now I'm still angry with him, but I know how much he cares about you. I know he'd never put you in danger on purpose."

"I'll talk to him tomorrow and see how he's doing," Aspen said. "I'm sure he's beating himself up over it." Steve gave a nod. He didn't look so angry, but she had a feeling it would be awhile before he and Clint were on good terms again.

…

"Take a seat." Nick Fury sat down in his leather chair and waited for Aspen and Steve to sit as well. Clint was nowhere to be seen. "Glad to see you on your own two feet, Tolvar," Fury said.

"Thank you, sir."

"Either of you want to tell me how this mission went?"

Aspen and Steve exchanged a glance. "Well," Aspen started. "It's hard to say. We – Steve – killed Zemo and we reclaimed all the artifacts from his castle. Barney Barton got away but not before he shot me. I'd say it's fifty/fifty. I don't think I'll be getting a promotion over it." She saw a twitch in the corner of his lip and realized he was trying not to smile. "Where's Clint?"

"He's fine. Shooting some arrows downstairs after his cleanup mission."

"Sir?"

"I told him he needed to fix what he'd messed up."

"You sent him after Barney?"

"_Barney_ found _him_. We've got him in custody now."

"You do? Have you talked to him? Has _Clint_ talked to him?"

"Right now Agent Barton is keeping his distance until I decide he's ready to interrogate his brother. Until then Barney Barton is being treated just like any other enemy of SHIELD."

"Clint's the best chance we have at getting Barney back."

"I know that, but he nearly compromised himself and put you and Rogers in a lot of danger. If you hadn't been there, Cap, I hate to think what Zemo would have done to Agent Tolvar and Barton."

"But he was there, and he dealt with Zemo quickly," Aspen insisted. "If you won't let Clint speak with him, then let me."

Fury sighed. "What makes you think you can get more out of him?" he asked.

"I'm nonthreatening. I might be able to get him to talk. Send your burly agents down there, and he's going to clam up."

Fury seemed to be considering it. "You have my permission to try."

"Thank you, sir."

"Barton believes there's a higher order out there," Fury said after a moment.

"Higher than Zemo?" Steve asked, leaning forward in his chair.

"So if Zemo was pulling Barney Barton's strings, who was pulling Zemo's?" Aspen asked.

"That's what you need to find out," Fury told her. "That will be your mission for now. After that you and Rogers will be training with one of the trainers from the Academy."

"Sir, Clint wasn't-"

"This isn't punishment, he's needed elsewhere," Fury cut in. "You and Rogers will not be joining the other agents in the Academy, but you will continue your training. We'll see about assigning you duo missions and raising your SHIELD level. After you recover, of course."

"Yes, sir."

"Report back your findings," he said, turning back to his work. Aspen nodded, and she and Steve got up to leave the office.

"Do you want me to come down with you?" Steve asked in the hallway.

Aspen shook her head. "I'm going to speak to Clint first, but I think Barney might react better if it was just me. I know you, but he doesn't. He might find you a little…intimidating." He folded his arms self-consciously over his chest.

"Right. Be careful."

"I will."

"I'm going to go down to the gym for a little while. Meet you back home?"

"Sounds good." She kissed his cheek and headed down to where Clint would be shooting. Clint's shooting range wasn't with the others in the training gym. It was more private so that he could concentrate. Aspen was the only one who ever came down to see him there.

When she entered the training room, she found Clint shooting off arrow after arrow. The process was so smooth and so quick, that Aspen could hardly follow the arrows as they left the quiver, were notched to the bowstring, and flew through the air. The center of the human-shaped target was bristling with arrows.

"Are you still beating yourself up for what happened to me?" Aspen asked Clint when he had shot his last arrow.

He turned to look at her, blue eyes pained. "I nearly got you killed," he said.

"It's part of the job. It could have happened on any mission."

"I never told you this before," Clint said, setting down his bow. "I don't kill if I can help it. Not since, well, shortly after I started working for SHIELD. Call it a lifestyle choice. With the Chitauri…somehow that was different, but when I woke up from Loki's control…after I realized how many lives I had taken…"

"But that wasn't you, Clint. That was Loki."

"But I still released the arrows. It's taken me a long time to come to terms with that."

"I didn't realize. I mean I knew it was difficult, of course it was, but if you'd made the choice not to kill…"

"I told you when you decided to become a full agent that you'd have to do things that made you uncomfortable. Kill even." Aspen nodded. "I told you that not because I want you to kill but because I didn't want to give you any illusions. I didn't want you to think that you'd never be put in a situation where you had to either pull the trigger or die. Just because I don't like to kill doesn't mean I'm not sometimes put in a situation where I have no choice. It's a part of being SHIELD. But not a part of you or me. We're not killers but sometimes we don't have control over that."

"You didn't have control."

"No, I didn't. And that's what's scary. When you don't have a choice. I don't want to ever see you have to pull that trigger, Aspen, but I also don't want to see you get shot again."

"It wasn't so bad."

"Don't you see though? Sometimes it's not just a matter of do I shoot or don't I, it's do I let someone I care about be shot or stop it from happening? I hesitated."

"He's your brother, Clint. You weren't going to shoot him."

"I have before. I should have treated him just like I would have anyone else. But I didn't, and you got shot."

"Have you spoken with him yet?" Aspen asked. "I mean, I know Fury doesn't want you to interrogate him, but when you caught him. Did he recognize you at all?"

Clint shook his head. "He didn't recognize me at all. It was…painful. He looked straight at me like I was his worst enemy."

"I'm sorry," Aspen said softly. "Fury gave me permission to talk to him."

Clint looked at her sharply. "You don't have to do that, Pen."

"I want to help."

Clint let out a breath, and his shoulders sagged. He looked exhausted, and Aspen wondered when he'd last slept. She went over and pulled him into a hug. He didn't fight it, but put his arms around her and held her close.

"Let me do this for you." She said into his shoulder. "You need to go home and get some sleep."

"My apartment kind of got…wrecked. When I was apprehending my brother," Clint said as Aspen pulled away.

"What on earth was he doing there?"

"Coming to get the moonstones."

"And what were _they_ doing there?" Aspen asked. "They belong in SHIELD custody."

"I may have borrowed them to lure my brother to me. I returned them."

"How did you know he'd come for them? Zemo's dead."

"This proves that he's working for someone even higher up than Zemo," Clint told her, his brow furrowing in thought.

"Or he just wanted them for himself. He is a super-thief after all."

"He's programed to take orders though. And who healed him and rebooted his mind anyway? There are too many missing pieces."

"Okay, so there's someone higher on the chain of command than Zemo. We need to find out who then. You do understand that SHIELD will extract that information from Barney using any means necessary. If there's someone out there worse than Zemo then we have something to fear."

"I know that." Clint ran a hand through his short hair, ruffling the spiked ends. "Hell I thought about keeping him myself to see what I could get out of him…if I could make him remember me, but I figured that wasn't the best idea."

"Yeah, take it from me," Aspen said. "That never works out so well."

"If you can get through to him…"

"I'll try. I can prep him, but you're going to have to be the one to really get through to him. You know that, right? Fury knows that even if he won't let you near Barney just yet."

"I know."

Aspen put a hand on his arm for a moment. "We'll get him back. Why don't you crash at my place until your apartment gets repaired? I'm staying with Steve anyway."

"Okay thanks."

"Of course." She moved to leave.

"Pen," Clint called out. She turned back. "Good luck."

…

Clint's brother was being held in the prison block, and Aspen took the elevator down, using her SHIELD access card to get in. Her photo appeared on the screen along with her name and Level 4. Two guards greeted her as she passed through the doors. She nodded at them before continuing down to Barney's cell. He was sitting stock still on his cot dressed in the regulation black shirt and pants SHIELD had given him. His grey eyes rose to meet hers as she entered his cell, using her scan card again to gain access. They were so like Clint's and yet so cold and unfriendly. Aspen took a seat in the chair across from his cot, crossing her arms and meeting his gaze.

"I'm a friend of your brother," she said, gaging his reaction. He blinked but gave away no emotion. "What's your name?" He watched her but didn't answer. "I understand that you don't want to give anything away. You have your instructions, you have your boss, you have no reason to share any of this with me. Actually you have a very good reason not to since I work for SHIELD. But right now I'm not interested in any of that. I'm not interested in who you work for or what you were doing in Austria." She thought she saw a flicker of response in his eyes, but it vanished a moment later. "What I care about is the fact that you are Barney Barton, older brother to my friend Clint. You were separated when you joined the Army and lost contact. You worked for the FBI and were working a job as a bodyguard for a man named Marko. During the job you were shot by an archer. There was a man named Trickshot who trained you and your brother to shoot. Eventually you took over his role. He was the one heading the robbery. Do you remember any of this? You nearly died. We aren't sure what happened after that. Clint went back for you, but you were gone. He thought you were dead all these years."

Barney's gaze was cold as ever. "You're wasting your time," he said, speaking for the first time. "I'm not that man."

"But you were. It's likely that whoever healed you erased your memories. Well, repressed them. They'll all still be there somewhere, but it's going to take some effort to reclaim them." He didn't respond. "I'm not trying to trick you," Aspen said. "Do you really believe it's impossible that you're Barney Barton?"

"He said you would try to convince me I was someone else."

"Who? Zemo?" He didn't reply. "He's dead."

Barney blinked slowly, and Aspen couldn't tell if he had known this or not. "You're a little young to be an agent, aren't you?" he asked.

Aspen glared at him for a moment and then realized how similar he sounded to Clint with the serious snark. "Well, you know, they start us young so if we get shot on the job, they have plenty more to choose from." The corner of his lip lifted, and she thought she saw a spark of amusement in his eyes. "Well, we're getting somewhere," she said with a sigh.

"We're getting somewhere? That's news to me."

"I got you to talk, didn't I?"

He cocked his head to the side. "Fair point."

"What more can I learn about you? You never told me your name. Surely you don't just go by Trickshot."

"Why would that be a problem?" There was something behind his tone though, an uncertainty that Aspen hadn't picked up on before.

"You don't remember, do you? All they ever called you was Trickshot. You have no memory of a name." Barney didn't confirm nor deny this but stayed silent. "Isn't it a little odd? I mean, don't most people remember what their name is? I bet there are other memories you don't have. A childhood? Parents? A place of birth? I bet you can't even remember your childhood pet's name." His stare was turning into a glare, and Aspen knew she was right. She leaned forward a little, resting her elbows on her knees. "Look, I'm trying to help you believe it or not. Clint really wants his brother back, and I want to help him. Can you at least try?"

Instead of replying, Barney lay down on his cot, turning his eyes up to the ceiling and effectively ignoring her. Aspen knew she'd struck a cord with him, but she could also see she wasn't going to get any further with him right then. "Alright. I'll be back later. Try to remember. This will go a lot easier for you if you do."

She stood and left the cell. The door locked behind her, echoing loudly in the prison block. She had started to walk away when another voice called her back.

"What, Miss America doesn't have time for me?" Aspen shut her eyes, the Austrian accent taking her back to the castle. She turned around to see Wagner standing at the front of his cell two down from Barney's. She'd been told that though his sarcasm knew no bounds, he had not revealed anything important during the initial interrogations. She didn't have permission from Fury to speak to Wagner, but she didn't see the harm in it. Maybe she could get something out of him that the other agents couldn't. She walked over to his cell, standing in front of the glass. Wagner looked disheveled in his prisoner clothes, his once neat hair ruffled and clean-shaven face fuzzy.

"Don't call me that," she said.

"That's right it's _Lady_ America. Captain America's pretty sidekick."

"I'm not a sidekick, and I don't appreciate you insinuating that I'm only around because I'm pretty," she said. "I'm pretty handy with a gun in my hand."

"You think I'm afraid of you? Any of you? You are all merely roadblocks on an interstate. Easily bowled down."

"By whom? You?" She lifted an eyebrow.

"You think Zemo was the worst there was?"

"So there _is_ someone else. Who was he working for?"

Wagner chuckled. "You'll find out soon enough. He's eager to meet you." His eyes flitted to the cuff on Aspen's wrist. "You're just the kind of specimen he likes to study."

Aspen clenched her fist. "I am _not_ a specimen," she said. "You know about my parents' work I take it."

"Who doesn't? They were careless. So young. I hear your father is dead. Probably better. He wouldn't want to see what is coming."

"And what _is_ coming?" Aspen prompted.

Wagner grinned rather madly, and Aspen wondered if he was sane or suffering from the same delusions she seemed to see in her enemies lately. "A war. One that no one will be able to stop. Not even your precious Avengers."

"And who will start it?"

"That is to be seen. Nothing any of you have seen before."

"Why did Zemo trust you anyway?" Aspen asked. "Seems to me you can't keep your mouth shut. You're so eager to talk, I'm surprised you haven't given everything away."

Wagner frowned. "Your taunting won't do any good," he said stiffly.

"Whatever, I don't have time for you." Aspen made to leave.

Wagner chuckled behind her. "No patience." He clucked his tongue disapprovingly. "You won't make a very good agent."

"No?" She turned back. "Well you will make a very nice corpse if you don't start cooperating soon. I'm not sure SHIELD has any more patience than I do." She left him to think on that.

Her side gave a twinge as she entered the elevator. She knew she should be at home resting, so she headed to her car. It was already dark when she left SHIELD headquarters. She hadn't realized she'd spent so much time there but they had arrived midday.

Steve's motorcycle wasn't parked outside of his apartment, and she realized he must still be working out in the SHIELD gym. She parked her car and cut the engine and lights throwing the street into darkness. As she got out of the car, she realized that the streetlight above her was out. For some reason the lack of light was disconcerting tonight, and she hurried toward the door. Her instincts kicked in too late as someone grabbed her from behind, pulling her into the alley next to the apartment building. Aspen shoved her elbow back as hard as she could and heard a sharp intake of breath behind her as her elbow met with the man's gut. She kicked back as hard as she could, making contact with his knee. His grip loosened on her, and she tore out of it, spinning on the spot and facing him. In the dark she could only see his vague outline, but it was enough. She struck out with her fist, making contact with the side of his face, but he was fast and grabbed her wrist, throwing her against the wall. It knocked the wind out of her and before she could recover, he had his hand around her throat and was lifting her clear off the ground. She tried to kick out, but the pressure on her throat was building so that she was gasping for air.

"I have a message for SHIELD's prisoners," the man said. She caught the strain of a German accent hidden behind an American one. "If they speak so much as one word of intel, they will be swiftly ended along with the agents who interrogate them. Are we clear?"

Aspen glared down at the man though he couldn't see her expression in the dark. She gagged, trying to breathe, but he kept the pressure on her throat. Her hands scrabbled at his. Suddenly they were illuminated by a single ray of light as a motorcycle pulled into the alley. The man threw Aspen on the ground, and stars in burst in front of her eyes as her injured side made contact with the ground. She heard the sound of running feet, and someone knelt beside her.


	34. Nightmare

**Author's Note: **...I fought it for so long, but last night I made a tumblr account... It's not going to take over my life! I will not let it! If you want to check my page out my username is ivorysword same as here. There's so far a lot of Steve things and then some of my photography.

Okay, I realized I forgot to give you a hint for my next stories in the last chapter so I'll give you two. (If I can type because right now it's a little iffy. I just spelled 'right' 'write')

_A Game of Winter_ will lead up into _The Winter Soldier _and include the movie though I have no idea how that's going to go yet. (I really haven't plotted it at all yet...) It will also include more of Steve and Aspen's missions. In _A Game of War_ when Steve meets Aspen she's working as a photojournalist and teaching a photography class at the school he takes art classes at.

* * *

**30 – Nightmare – June 26th, 2012**

Steve decided it was time to stop punching his sandbag and head home. He took a quick shower in the locker room and changed into his street clothes before heading out to his motorcycle. He hadn't seen Aspen since earlier that afternoon, but he figured she'd probably be home by now. She'd texted him earlier to let him know Clint would be crashing at her place and asked if she could stay with him a little longer. He didn't mind at all. He'd thought at first that it would feel strange having Aspen stay over, but he found that his apartment felt empty without her. He knew she still craved the independence her own apartment gave her, but he wondered if she would ever consider moving in with him permanently. He'd looked into this and found that it was a normal thing that happened frequently in the 21st century. In the 40s you wouldn't find a unmarried woman living with a man (at least not without lifting some eyebrows), but times had changed, and he was ready to move forward if it meant he got to spend more time with Aspen. He'd been trying to get up the courage to ask her, but he hadn't yet. Whenever he looked back on when he had first met her, he realized it was only a few months ago but after all they had been through together it felt like much longer.

Aspen's car was parked on the street, but Steve didn't see any lights on in the apartment. He turned down the narrow alley he usually parked his bike in. Two figures were illuminated by the bike's bright headlight as he pulled in. A tall man had someone pinned up against the wall by her throat. Aspen. The moment he saw the bike, the man tossed Aspen to the ground and took off. Steve was off the bike and at Aspen's side in a second.

"Aspen!" He cradled her head as her eyes opened dazedly.

"I'm okay," she croaked. "Go after him. Go."

Steve felt conflicted, but Aspen was already sitting up. He tore after the man, letting his adrenaline help him pump his legs faster. He saw the figure jump a fence up ahead. Steve leapt over the fence and landed on the other side. The short yard connected with the street. Steve stopped, looking around. The figure had vanished. Steve knew he couldn't have gone far, but nothing moved. He turned back. Right now Aspen's safety was his priority, and leaving her alone in the dark alley had been against his better judgment.

He found her sitting against the wall, holding her side. In the light of his bike, he saw that a spot of blood had soaked through her shirt. "You're bleeding." He bent down and scooped her up. She looped her arm around his neck, pressing her head into his shoulder. He snagged the keys to his bike, cutting the engine and carried Aspen up to the apartment. He took her into the bedroom and laid her down on the bed, switching on the bedside lamp.

"How bad is it?" he asked. In response, Aspen shrugged off her jacket and pulled up her shirt so that he could see her stitched up side. Two of the stitches had torn, but the bleeding wasn't heavy. Most of the skin had healed up leaving an ugly scab. Steve got a clean washcloth and wet it down before sitting next to Aspen and dabbing the wound. She sucked in her breath as the cloth made contact with her wound. "Sorry." Steve gently cleaned it until the blood stopped flowing. "Those stitches are nearly ready to come out anyway," he said. "But we need to bandage it so it doesn't bleed again." He grabbed a first aid kit he kept under the bathroom sink and pulled out a bandage. "Can you sit up? I'm going to wrap this around the injury."

Aspen sat up with his help and held her shirt up while he wound the bandage around her lower torso. A few spots of blood dotted the bandage, but it would stop bleeding under the pressure of the bandage. He tied it off, and Aspen dropped her bloody shirt. Steve grabbed her a fresh one from his dresser. "It'll be a little big," he said apologetically. All of the clothes Aspen had brought to his apartment were sitting in the laundry basket on the washer, forgotten after everything that had happened. She took it gratefully, and Steve turned around while she changed, giving her the privacy he felt she needed.

"What happened?" Steve finally asked when she had changed into his shirt.

"I was threatened," Aspen told him. "And so were our prisoners."

"Barney and Wagner?" He furrowed his brow in confusion. "Why would he threaten them?"

"He's afraid they'll give away valuable information. Whoever Zemo was working for knows we have them. He sent an order out for them to be killed if they gave away anything. Also the agents who got the information out of them."

Steve felt a twinge of fear as he remembered how the man had held Aspen by the throat. "We should tell Fury about this," he said.

"No!" He looked down at Aspen in surprise. "Not yet. He might not let me interrogate Barney if he knows that I was threatened," she added.

"With good reason," Steve argued.

"I'll be fine. I was just caught off guard tonight. It won't happen again."

"I'm not willing to take that chance," he said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Please, Steve. I need to do this for Clint."

"He wouldn't want you doing this if he knew you'd been threatened either."

"What if you're with me at all times when I leave the house and SHIELD headquarters? We won't give them a chance to hurt me again."

"I still think we should tell Fury."

"Just give me a week," Aspen pleaded with him. "If I can't get anything out of him by then we tell Fury, and I'll step back if he tells me to."

"I still don't like it," Steve said. He stood and left the room, needing to clear his head. He knew Aspen had good intentions, but he was afraid she was going to get hurt again. Getting tangled in this business meant they were all at risk, and next time Aspen might not be so lucky.

An hour later he reentered the room to find Aspen curled up under the blankets seemingly asleep. He lay on the edge of the bed without saying anything. He found himself replaying Zemo's words about Aspen in his head while sleep eluded him. _I'm not sure she appreciates your protectiveness. She finds it overbearing. I wonder how long this will last, the two of you. She will eventually grow bored. We all do._ He knew Aspen was desperate to prove herself and to atone for the mistakes she made earlier in her career with SHIELD, but she needed to realize that she was risking her life. Steve wanted to protect her because though she could look out for herself, she also had a tendency to put herself at risk for others. She might argue he had the same tendency, but he supposed they could both look out for each other. Whatever the case, he knew he was never going to convince Aspen to give up. Her brave determination was part of what he loved about her. She never gave up even if she was putting herself at great personal risk. He just hoped this wouldn't end the same way as Iceland.

…

It took Aspen a long time to fall asleep and when she did her dreams were plagued with dark figures. She was back in the alley, spotlighted by a round light. She could see nothing outside of the light, and her eyes burned from it. She could hear someone shifting in the darkness and tensed. She reached for the closest weapon and found that she now held Steve's shield. The metal was scratched and dented though and as a shot rang out in the night, she realized this wasn't his shield but a cheap replica. The shot went straight through and hit her in the side. She let go of the thin metal, and it clattered to the ground, a smoking hole in the middle. Aspen put her hands to her side and they came away red. She looked up and saw Wagner standing above her holding a massive gun.

"I guess the Lady America was no match for the great Zemo after all," he said.

"Zemo is dead," Aspen said, gritting her teeth against the pain. It brought her to her knees.

Wagner laughed high and cruel. "You really think that the powerful Zemo would be so easy to defeat?"

"What do you mean?" Aspen asked. She could hardly get the words out. Her side was on fire.

Wagner leaned close, putting the gun under Aspen's chin. "Cut off one head, two more shall take its place. You will be too dead to see how this ends, however."

Aspen waited for the shot to come. When it did, her eyes opened wide, and she found herself sitting up in bed breathing hard. Steve awoke next to her and sat up too.

"Are you alright?" He put a hand on her back, warm and reassuring.

She turned to look at him, trying to pull herself back from the nightmare. "Is there a chance Zemo didn't die?" she asked.

Steve's eyes widened in surprise. "Why do you ask that?"

"I had this dream, this nightmare. Wagner, he said that Zemo wouldn't be so easy to defeat. He said that if you cut off one head, two more would replace it." She shook her head as tears pricked the corners of her eyes.

"It was just a bad dream," Steve assured her, but the look in his eyes told her he was worried. "There's no way Zemo could have survived that fall."

"But it was too easy," Aspen told him. "Nothing is that easy."

He gave her a wry smile. "We got lucky. But that mantra." He frowned. "That's what Hydra used to say."

"It is?" Aspen strained her brain to remember where she'd heard it before. "I didn't realize. I don't remember where I've heard it."

Steve frowned at this. "Probably in a file on Hydra or something."

"Maybe." Aspen felt disconcerted by this.

"It was just a dream," Steve repeated but it sounded like he was trying to convince himself. "If this whole situation is giving you nightmares, maybe you shouldn't-"

"Interrogate Barney further? No, I have to. Like you said, it was just a bad dream." She lay back down. Steve stayed sitting for a moment longer and then did the same. Aspen shut her eyes tight, but she could feel him watching her. She didn't want to face his worry, so she pretended to be asleep. In truth she only slept for a few hours that night, too afraid of falling back into the nightmare. Her side twitched uncomfortably, and she could almost feel the bullet slicing through her skin and setting her side on fire.

…

Aspen was still fast asleep when Steve woke up the next morning. The memory of her nightmare came rushing back to him along with the words 'Cut off one head, two more shall take its place.' Was there a chance that Zemo _hadn't_ died? No one could survive a fall like that, but Aspen was right, it _had_ been too easy. Of course Zemo was old and desperate. It was always possible that Steve had just gotten lucky, caught him off guard. Something still nagged at the back of his mind though. He didn't like the idea of Aspen going back in to interrogate Barney. This time he was going in with her. Fine, she could talk to Barney alone, but he was going to be right outside to make sure nothing happened to her. He felt uncomfortable not telling Fury about the threat and wished Aspen hadn't put him in that position, but he knew how stubborn she could be. Maybe he could convince her not to go in today after what she'd been through the night before. He could contact Clint and tell him about the threats. Aspen hadn't asked him not to tell Clint, and Steve knew that if Clint was aware of the attack, he would never let Aspen question his brother. Not wanting to wake her, he got slowly out of bed and dressed.

"Is it morning already?" He turned around, shirt in hand. Aspen sat up slowly. His eyes went to her side, but he could see no blood on the shirt.

"Yeah." He tugged the shirt over his head. "How are you feeling?"

Aspen took a moment to answer. "I'm not really sure," she said finally. "Last night…that dream…it felt so real, but I think I overreacted. No one could have survived that fall, you're right. There's no way. I was just upset and got caught up in my dream. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," he said. "We all have bad dreams now and again."

"I need to get going. I don't even have clothes." She grabbed her bloody shirt from the night before and headed to the laundry closet in the hall.

"You're still going in today?" Steve asked, leaning against the doorframe and watching her as she shoved her dirty laundry into the machine. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"What, I should tell Fury I can't come in because I had a bad dream?" she asked, letting the washing machine's lid slam. Steve knew she was frustrated with herself and with the dream, but it didn't mean she needed to lash out at him.

"You're recovering from a bullet wound that nearly killed you and you've been threatened by thugs working for who knows what rogue organization. I think that's plenty reason not to go in," he told her. "At least today. Fury wasn't the one who asked you to question Barney after all. He's not expecting you to do it."

She turned to face him, green eyes flashing. He braced himself. He'd seen her give Clint this look before, but it was the first time he had faced it. "I can't just sit at home and twiddle my thumbs because I got hurt. That's not what agents do! I need to be able to prove that I can handle this. If I back out the second things get dangerous, I'll never prove that I can become a good agent."

"Who said you needed to prove anything to anyone?" Steve asked, crossing his arms over his chest defensively.

"I need to prove this to myself," she said. "I chose this life. I knew what dangers came with it. I can't just take shortcuts and expect myself to learn something. Sometimes pain is necessary."

"And I suppose you think you almost dying was necessary too?" He realized they'd both raised their voices but right now he didn't care.

"If that's what it takes. Are you still hung up on that? I didn't die! It was a freak accident."

"Am I still hung up on that?" he repeated, taking a step toward her. "Do you think it was easy for me watching you get shot, being powerless to do anything about it? Do you think I didn't nearly go crazy waiting for the doctors to tell us if you were going to make it or not? You didn't see the blood. You didn't sit covered in it in the waiting room realizing you never had the chance to say goodbye. So yes, I'm still hung up on that."

Aspen's eyes widened in surprise and a retort didn't come. She seemed to remember herself and looked down, her cheeks reddening. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "I didn't even think about what it did to you."

"You're always ten pages ahead," Steve told her. "Aspen, sometimes you need to slow down. There's a difference between doing a job and being reckless."

"You think I'm reckless?" He couldn't read the expression in her eyes, couldn't tell if she was still angry.

"Sometimes you can be. Rushing back to interrogate someone after being threatened. I just worry about you, Pen. I realize this job is dangerous and that I can't be holding you back or worrying all the time, but the thought of something happening to you and not even being able to say goodbye…" His eyes slid to the bruise on her neck where the man had grabbed her last night.

"That's not going to happen." She closed the space between them, placing her hands on his crossed arms. "Steve, look at me." He looked down into her green eyes. "I don't plan on dying anytime soon. I know anything can happen, but we can't live in fear of that."

He nodded. She was right. If he lived in fear of her dying every time they went on a mission then they were both in the wrong business. He let out a breath, and Aspen put her arms around him. He slid his hands around her back, holding her close. "I'm sorry," he said.

"No, I'm sorry. I'm tense and upset over my dream, and I took it out on you. That wasn't fair."

"You can get carried away sometimes." He said it teasingly, and Aspen smiled up at him.

"I know." She winced. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize," he said again, leaning down to kiss her forehead.

"What, I can't make it up to you?" she asked playfully, leaning up to kiss his jaw.

"Well, don't strain yourself," he teased back. "Or I _will_ have to keep you bedridden." He realized how that sounded, blushing violently. "I mean…keep you here…not at work…you know what I mean," he scrambled to correct himself.

Aspen started laughing against his cheek. "You are too cute sometimes," she told him, kissing his cheek before pulling away. "I'll let you off the hook." He watched her walk into the kitchen and get out a bowl and box of cereal. She looked back at him. "Are you just going to stand there all day or do you want breakfast?"

He shook his head and followed her into the kitchen. Sometimes he didn't quite know what to make of her.

…

Steve thought Aspen was going to argue again when he insisted on coming with her to interrogate Barney, but she didn't. Instead she pulled on a jacket and a scarf that covered the bruises on her neck, and he drove her to SHIELD headquarters, keeping a sharp eye out for anyone who might be following them. Aspen headed straight down to the detention block. She stopped and faced him before they reached Barney's cell.

"I need to do this alone, but maybe you can see if you can get something out of Wagner."

Steve nodded. He decided that pointing out the fact that this was exactly what the attacker had told her not to do was pointless. Instead he continued down the corridor until he found himself in front of Wagner's cell. The Austrian was sitting on his cot looking down at a crossword puzzle. Steve used his SHIELD card to gain access to the room, and Wagner looked up. His face split into a smile when he saw the Super Soldier.

"Ah, company at last! I was beginning to think they'd forgotten about me."

"They've been too busy going through your artifacts," Steve told him. "You had a lot of stolen items."

"Ah, yes, my collection. I'm less than happy to have SHIELD agents pawing at my treasures, but I guess it's better than having them destroyed. How are you getting along with my thief? Take it from me, he'd take his secrets and mine to his grave."

"How did you find him?"

"You think I'll tell you that? I'm not stupid. You aren't going to trick me into answering anything."

"No?" Steve took a seat across from Wagner.

"Please tell me you're not going to threaten me. I really don't respond well to threats. They don't agree with me. What's another word for a fencing sword?" He tapped his pencil against the crossword.

Steve could tell he wasn't going to get anywhere with Wagner by simply questioning him. He needed to find a way to catch him off guard. "There's one thing I've been wondering," he said on a whim, hoping that his instincts would serve him well.

"Oh?" Wagner looked up from his crossword with a bored expression.

"How Zemo survived that fall." It was a shot in the dark, but the range of emotions that flitted across Wagner's face in the following seconds was worth it. Surprise then fear told Steve he'd hit upon something. Then Wagner composed himself.

"Not even the great Zemo could survive that fall," he said with a chuckle.

"But he survived somehow, didn't he?" Steve persisted, but Wagner's face was a mask again. "Who was he working for?" Wagner smirked but didn't reply. "There are men out there looking for you, you know," Steve said, leaning forward. "They want to kill you. One of them threatened Aspen last night. If you don't cooperate, what's to keep us throwing you out on the streets for them to find? They didn't seem too keen on giving you a second chance." He watched Wagner's smirk slide.

"You're bluffing."

"I'm not. She can show you the bruises if you'd like." Steve stood. "I'll ask again. Who was Zemo working for?"

"Why should I tell you? It's not like SHIELD is going to grant me clemency."

"They might. They'll give you a better chance than the men outside will. They'll actually give you a chance anyway."

Wagner seemed to be weighing his options. Much as Steve hated to admit it, the threat of the men outside of SHIELD had done the trick. He had no idea what SHIELD planned on doing with Wagner, but he knew they were more keen on giving second chances than their enemies. He thought Wagner was about to break, but instead the Austrian began to chuckle. "You really think I'm going to spill everything to SHIELD because there are some big men outside waiting to beat me up? I will tell you this – you've caught someone's eye. He would like to meet you, and he doesn't care about disposing of anyone or anything that gets in his way. If that girlfriend of yours tries to step in and protect you, they'll do more than give her a few bruises. They'll snap her neck. They don't care about casualties. They also know that I'd take their secrets to the grave. You don't stand a chance." He smiled up at Steve, his eyes dancing. "Ah, épée, that's the word." He scribbled the four-letter word onto his crossword puzzle. "Zemo had a few of those."

Steve felt something snap at the threat to Aspen and Wagner's indifference. Before he knew what he was doing, he had his hand around Wagner's throat, and the Austrian's feet left the ground. He choked and grasped against Steve's hand. "Don't threaten her," Steve said.

Wagner's eyes widened. His face was turning red as Steve pressed him up against the wall. He tried to speak but it came out as a choking sound.

"You're making a mistake," Steve told him before releasing him. Wagner dropped to the floor, coughing and holding his throat. He glared up at Steve.

"You're too cocky, too sure of yourself," he managed to spit out. "It will be your downfall. You underestimate your enemies. You think they are gone, destroyed, but they are only waiting for the right time to strike again. Cut off one head, two more shall take its place. I think these words have meaning to you."

Steve felt a jolt at the words. "What do you know about Hydra?" he asked.

Wagner shook his head. "You will fail," he said, laughing. He pulled himself to his feet. Steve nearly shoved him against the wall again, but he knew it wouldn't solve anything. He checked his anger and took a step back.

"I don't plan on it," he said. "You're not the only one here who has information we need."

"Don't imagine Trickshot's any chattier than me," Wagner warned.

Steve turned from the room, leaving Wagner chuckling behind him. The man was infuriating, but it would do no good to lose his head over it. He edged toward Barney's cell to see how Aspen was doing. To his surprise, she was sitting chatting avidly to Barney while he sat watching her. His expression was carefully tooled to be passive, but Steve saw his eyes watching Aspen curiously, wondering why she was taking the time to talk to him. Then he saw Steve watching and his expression instantly went on guard. Aspen noticed the change and looked back at Steve. She gave him a smile and held up a finger asking him to wait. She exchanged another word with Barney and left the cell. After the door slid shut behind her, she looked up at Steve.

"How did it go?" he asked.

"I have this idea," she said. "Let's go upstairs." He followed her to the elevator, leaning back against the wall as it carried them up. They came out in a hall Steve had never been down before. Aspen walked slowly, and he kept pace with her. "So you know the idea of using objects from a person's past to help them remember things? You show them something that sparks a memory."

Steve nodded slowly not quite following. "What from his past could you show him? He's seen Clint."

Aspen shook her head. "Not an object in this case. I had a different idea. Same concept."

"I'm not following."

"When's the last time Barney saw Clint?" she asked. "I mean before he got brainwashed."

"The mansion where he worked a job. Where Clint shot him."

"Right, so I was thinking, what if we took him there, played out that night again?"

"That sounds risky," Steve said.

"It will be a controlled environment. I think he might respond to that. He's clearly had his memories wiped, but they're still in there somewhere. We just need to reach them."

"I wish we knew what had happened to him."

"Me too."

"So where are we going now?" Steve asked as they approached a set of doors at the end of the hall.

"To see Clint. I need him there."

"You'll need Fury's permission."

"I know," she said, and Steve was glad she wasn't going to go behind Fury's back on this. "I'll ask them both." She pushed open the doors, and Steve found himself in a large training room. Clint stood in the center of the room, bow aimed at a target. He didn't acknowledge them until he'd shot his arrow. His aim was impressive as always. He turned to look at them.

"Pen, Steve," he greeted.

"Clint, I have an idea that might help your brother get his memories back," Aspen told him. "I've spoken with him, and it's not getting me anywhere. I think he believes there's a chance he does have some repressed memories. He realizes he doesn't know who he is – not before he was Trickshot anyway. There are gaps and missing pieces. But me talking to him isn't helping him break through. What if we were to put him into a memory, the last memory he has of you." Clint just stared at her. "Marko's mansion," Aspen elaborated. "That last night you saw him." Steve saw Clint's eyes harden, and he was afraid he was going to reject Aspen's idea.

"You want me to relive that night that I shot my brother and thought I'd left him for dead?" he asked her.

"I know it's going to be hard, but I think that could spark some memories for him," Aspen said.

"Pen, he didn't even know it was me."

"He might have. Anyway, if he remembers his past, he _will_ remember you."

Clint didn't look convinced. "We don't know how far the brainwashing goes. He might not remember anything."

"So you're giving up?" Aspen asked.

"No. Damn it, Pen. Okay, I'll do it." He ran a hand through his short hair looking distressed.

"It will be okay, I promise," Aspen said, taking his arm and giving him a pleading look. Clint calmed down under her touch. He gave her a long look and sighed.

"Okay, Pen. I trust you. You know I do." Steve could see the relief behind Clint's eyes and realized as a spy and an agent he'd kept secrets his entire life. To be able to open up about his past to someone like Aspen must have been a relief. Even the most secretive of people had some secrets they needed to share with someone. Keeping those emotions bottled up inside for so long wasn't healthy.

"We need to okay this with Fury, but I wanted to ask you first."

"You think he'll say yes?"

"I'm not sure." Aspen bit her lip. "Hopefully." She was about to turn away when Clint grabbed her upper arm.

"Wait, what's that?" He tugged her scarf down, and Steve saw that part of the bruise had been exposed. Aspen tried to pull away, but Clint held onto her, gently pulling off the scarf with his free hand. "Who did this to you?" he asked.

Aspen wouldn't meet his eyes, so Clint turned to Steve. His grey eyes were dark with anger. "Someone attacked her last night," Steve said. "I got there just in time." Clint swore, gripping Aspen's scarf in his fist. "They warned us that if our prisoners said anything they would kill them…" He looked at Aspen. "And anyone they talked to."

"Damn it, Aspen, you should have said something to me."

"You would have stopped me from talking to him then."

"Damn right!" He paced across the room before coming back. "This is serious, Pen."

"I'm okay," Aspen tried to assure him.

"And you just let her come back," Clint said, turning on Steve.

"Don't make this his fault!" Aspen said, grabbing Clint's arm as he took a step toward Steve. "I insisted. You know how stubborn I can be. Steve hasn't left my side since."

Clint was still glaring at Steve, but he gave a curt nod. "You know taking Barney out of here is dangerous."

"I know, but we need to do this. We can't tell Fury about last night though. He'll never let us go."

"With good reason."

"Clint, we have to do this. Barney is your brother. I'm not giving up."

Clint gave her a long look. "Me neither, but we play this safe."

"I agree."

He sighed. "Alright." He handed Aspen her scarf. "Let's talk to Fury."


	35. Marko's Mansion

**Author's Note: **I am currently being used as a kitty foot stool which is making it hard to type. I finished the story! I forget how many chapters it ended up being, but the end is in sight. I'm also getting some ideas for _A Game of Winter_. So as we transition into the between time before stories, I wanted to let you know that I will try to keep updates on my profile page for my stories giving you an idea of when the next one might come out. I'm thinking December. I need to take a break to write in my books. I was so busy with work this summer, I had no chance to write in my books at all. I've got a paranormal dystopian and a Sleeping Beauty retelling going right now. They need to go somewhere. But in the mean time I will start posting _A Game of War _which is about 30 pages from the end.

Alright, next hint. I haven't really plotted this out at all, but I was thinking I want Aspen to meet Bucky as the Winter Soldier before the movie takes place. Possibly there will be kidnapping involved. There is a character who is very interested in studying Aspen's powers, so he might play a role too.

* * *

**31 – Marko's Mansion – June 28th, 2012**

With Fury's grudging permission acquired, Aspen, Clint, and Steve prepared themselves for their mission. At first Aspen had been sure Fury was going to say no. He'd given them all a long stare until he finally sighed. "Don't mess this up, Tolvar," he'd said throwing her one of his notorious looks.

They were playing it safe with six agents that would surround the mansion to keep it safe. They weren't going to risk Barney escaping or anyone else getting in. They'd given Barney street clothes to change into and cuffed him for the trip. Marko's mansion was in upper Manhattan, now abandoned and foreclosed. The SHIELD agents took a circuitous route to the mansion. Aspen had warned them people could try to follow them without elaborating. By the time they reached the mansion, no one had been spotted in pursuit. The agents placed themselves around the mansion while Aspen, Steve, Clint, and Barney surveyed the front of the mansion.

"Do you remember this?" Aspen asked Barney. Clint was hanging back with Steve, looking suddenly unsure of himself. "You worked a job here when you were in the employment of the FBI. You were hired to be a bodyguard for a man named Marko. He was actually a criminal, but I think you knew that. I think you were working undercover, but you didn't realize that another criminal was going to be there that night to rob Marko of something." Barney gave her a bored look. "Not ringing any bells? Right, come on." She took Barney's arm and pulled him toward the mansion.

Behind her she heard Clint say to Steve, "Well if this doesn't work, maybe she'll annoy him into remembering."

Aspen rolled her eyes back at him. "Don't listen to him," she said. "Your brother thinks he's so clever. By the way, why didn't you kill me when you had the chance?" she asked. "You shot me in the side. That's not a kill shot."

Barney looked down at her. "I had no reason to kill you, I just needed a distraction," he said. She looked up, surprised by his honesty though she had guessed his reasoning.

"You're not a bad guy," Aspen told him. "That proves it. You were just brainwashed to take orders from whoever was giving them."

"If you say so."

They had reached the front steps having passed the foreclosure sign. It was a foreboding mansion once grand but now falling into disrepair after years of neglect. The porch groaned as they set foot on it. Aspen unlocked the door (SHIELD had acquired the key) and led them into the front hall. "Clint's going to show us where that night took place," Aspen said. She turned her eyes to him. He nodded, skirting past them and taking the grand staircase up. Aspen followed, hand still on Barney's arm. Steve took up the back. The hallways were dusty with long runner carpets. The walls were unadorned, but Aspen could see the places where pictures had once hung. Clearly the mansion had been stripped. There was no furniture left and some of the windows were broken letting in the drafty afternoon air. Clint stopped at the end of the hall.

"You were here," he said, addressing Barney for the first time. Aspen walked him over to where Clint indicated. She nodded to Clint who disappeared down the other end of the hall. This was part of the plan Aspen had devised. It was risky, but it might shock Barney into remembering that night. "You were patrolling the halls when two men broke into the mansion. Do you remember?" She unlocked his handcuffs. He jumped as they clicked, and she saw surprise in his eyes. She backed away. "Try to remember." She joined Steve, and Barney stood, looking unsure of himself. Then he turned and saw a hooded figure holding a bow. The arrow pierced above his heart a second later, and Barney fell back with a yelp. He fell to the floor.

"You were hit with an arrow," Aspen said as Barney writhed on the floor. She watched sympathetically. She'd developed an injection that simulated pain. In reality the tip of the arrow had been a thin needle that injected the pain-inducing chemical. She nodded to Clint who ran over to his brother, dropping his bow and pulling out the arrow. The pain would fade in a few minutes, so Clint had a short amount of time to get through to him.

"Barney," he said, putting his hands on his brother's shoulders to hold him down. "Barney! Stay with me. Stay with me, brother." Barney's eyes widened. "I never meant to leave you that night," Clint continued. "I got hurt too. Remember the real Trickshot? He trained us at the circus, but he ended up turning on me. I thought you were dead." Barney's grey eyes were narrowed now, and Aspen couldn't read the expression behind them. They looked so similar right then, the pain clear in both their eyes. "I came to the bus station, you know. Before you joined the Army. I came to say goodbye but I was too late. I was so stupid, Barney. I should have stuck by family, but I got distracted. I forgot what was important."

"Clint?" The words came from Barney, and Aspen felt her heart leap. Barney sat up, and Aspen realized the pain must be fading. "Clint?" he repeated.

"Yeah, it's me," Clint said.

Barney looked so confused, but he put a hand on Clint's shoulder. "I remember that night. You were there. I heard you saying my name. I kept fighting because I needed to look out for my little brother."

"Welcome back," Clint said. He stood and held out a hand for Barney to take, helping him to his feet. Barney grasped it and then pulled Clint into a hug. Clint who kept his emotions to himself at all times had glossy eyes as he held his brother. When they pulled apart, Barney looked over at Aspen.

"Thank you," he said. "You were right. When you asked me what my real name was and I couldn't remember, I realized something was off. I didn't know what to believe, but it's starting to come back to me now. Not everything though." He turned back to Clint. "I don't remember our childhood or being in the Army. I don't remember working for the FBI. There are all these gaps…"

"Your memories should start to return now that you've broken through," Aspen assured him. "Do you remember anything about who brought you back to life?"

"A man named Elihas Starr," Barney answered. "I remember him taking my memories away, wiping me clean." He clenched his fists.

"Did you work for Zemo?"

"The Baron?" Aspen nodded. "I did, but he wasn't the only Baron involved," he replied.

"What do you mean?" Aspen asked, frowning.

Barney shook his head. "I only ever dealt with Zemo and Wagner. But they referred to the Baron. Someone other than Zemo. Zemo had a personal grudge against you and SHIELD," he said to his brother. "Sounds like you took down quite a few of his research facilities. When Trickshot took my body to Starr, they realized my potential. I could kill you if I didn't know who you were because you would never kill me. I was the perfect weapon."

"Do you know anything more that could be helpful? We have Wagner, but he won't talk," Aspen said. Steve had mentioned his confrontation with him earlier that day.

"I know he was Zemo's right hand man. He acquired items of value and kept them at his castle. He was more of a front man though. He didn't get his hands dirty. I wish I knew more, but I was their tool. They didn't tell me anything important just what my next mission was."

"That's okay, we'll find a way to crack Wagner. I'm just glad you're back. Clint sometimes needs a big brother to look out for him." Clint sent her a glare, but Aspen just smiled sweetly back at him.

"Aspen, right?"

Aspen nodded. "And this is Steve," she introduced. Steve shook Barney's hand.

"Captain America, right?" Barney asked interestedly. "I was told to watch out for you."

"Well fortunately we don't have to worry about that anymore," Steve said.

"We should get out of here," Clint told them. "This place gives me the creeps."

"Agreed."

They left the dim hallway and made their way down the grand staircase. Aspen paused on the porch, squinting into the harsh sunlight. "Where are the-" The rest of her sentence was cut off when a round of gun firing sent them ducking for cover. Aspen crouched next to the railing on the porch, pulling out her dart gun. Clint had his bow and was across from her. Steve had pulled his shield off is back and was covering Barney in the doorway.

"Agent down, I repeat, we have an agent down," Clint said into his earpiece. Aspen saw the body of one of the agents lying in the bushes near the sidewalk.

"They're after me," Barney said.

"Shit." Clint notched an arrow. "We don't know how many or how many agents are down."

"They don't know that Barney has his memories back," Aspen said.

"I don't think they care, Pen," Clint shot back at her. He ducked lower as another round of gunfire hit the wall behind them. A few of the bullets hit Steve's shield and bounced off. "You are _not_ getting shot again," Clint told Aspen. "Think we can take them Steve?" he asked. Steve gave him a nod. "You and Barney get inside."

"No way, I am not just hiding inside," Aspen said hotly.

"Me neither," Barney replied, backing her up. She sent him a grateful smile. "They're here because of me. I'm not letting any of you get killed because of that."

"Well you better the hell not die because we just found each other again," Clint said gruffly.

"Don't worry, little brother. I'm a good shot. Got an extra gun?" he asked.

Clint deliberated for a moment before tossing Barney a gun. Barney caught it left-handed and gave Clint a nod. "We'd do better from a window inside," he said. "We can see how many there are. We'll take the back."

"Steve and I will take the ones out front," Aspen said. "He has his shield, and I have my darts."

"Okay." Clint backed toward the door, and he and Barney disappeared inside. Aspen peered through the rails trying to figure out where the shooters were.

"Can you see anything?" she asked Steve.

"One behind the van, one past that shrubbery to the left. Can your darts handle them?"

"Maybe. Sometimes objects can get in the way. The targeting system can get messed up if they move too much." She set the tip of the gun on the rail. Gunshots had her crouched down again though. One of the bullets narrowly missed her. Steve reached out a hand and pulled her behind the shield.

"We're sitting ducks, let's get inside," he said. Aspen let him pull her in, shield held out in front of them as an onslaught of bullets rained down.

"I know I signed up for this, but it seems like this is getting to be an everyday affair," Aspen said.

"If I didn't know better, I would say you were enjoying this," Steve told her with half smile.

"Well, it's better than sitting in bed watching TV." Aspen peered over the edge of the broken front window. She saw one of the shooters near the shrubbery, standing to get a better shot. Before he could find his target, she raised her dart gun and fired. The dart shot through the air and struck the man in the neck. His fingers went to the spot before he slumped forward. More bullets shattered the rest of the glass, and Aspen ducked down, shielding her face with her hands.

"I need to get a clear shot of the other shooter," Aspen said.

"He's still behind the truck. Should I draw him out?" Steve asked.

"We don't know how many are out there."

"I just saw the two. I'll be fine." Aspen nodded and situated herself at the window again. Steve held his shield in front of him and pushed outside. The gun firing started at once, bouncing off his shield. Aspen raised herself up and took aim. The dart soared through the air, but the man ducked down at the last minute and the dart clipped the truck and bounced off. Aspen swore. "Too many obstacles."

"He's going to make sure you don't get a clear shot," Steve said. "I can get to him though."

Aspen caught herself before asking if he was sure. "Go get him," she said instead. "I'll cover you." She pulled out a handgun. "Just in case he gets any ideas."

She positioned herself at the window, and Steve made a run for it, shield held out in front of him. The shooter immediately appeared over the hood of the van. Aspen raised her gun and shot a round of bullets. They skimmed over the windshield, and the man ducked back down to avoid being hit. Steve was past the front gate now. When the shooter came back up, Aspen didn't have a clear shot, but Steve vaulted over the hood of the van, coming down hard on the shooter, shield slamming into his head. Aspen cautiously came out onto the porch but there were no more gunshots. She met Steve by the front gate.

"All clear?" he asked.

"As far as I can tell. Let's do a perimeter sweep."

"No need." Clint came around the left side of the mansion. Barney was behind him. "We checked the entire perimeter. We've got two agents down and three unconscious. We took down two, but the others disappeared before we could get a clear shot."

"Why take down our guards and then leave after getting in a few shots?" Aspen asked.

"Maybe they weren't here to get anything. They wanted to see if Barney had his memories back. I think that was made pretty clear when he fired a few rounds at their heads," Clint said. "I called for backup. Fury's gonna be pissed, but we were playing this carefully. We still don't know who we're dealing with."

"I doubt we'll get anything out of the shooters," Aspen said. "Let's get them in the van though." She walked over to the SHIELD agent lying a few feet away, kneeling down and putting a finger to her neck. The girl's dark hair was splayed out over the grass, her face pale. "She's alive," Aspen said. "We need to get her help." There was a pretty nasty gash on the side of her head, and Aspen grabbed a med-kit from the van to clean the wound. Clint, Barney, and Steve hauled the enemy agents into the back of the van and cuffed them before gathering the downed agents. Two had their necks broken, but the other three had come to and were leaning against the van rubbing their heads. The girl remained unconscious as Aspen bandaged her wound.

"What's her name?" she asked one of the agents.

"Lucy," the older man replied. "This was her first mission. It wasn't supposed to end up this way."

Aspen looked back down at the girl. She couldn't have been older than twenty, and Aspen wondered how she had become a SHIELD agent. "Never expect a mission to go the way you plan," she said half to herself.

When backup arrived, several agents were sent out to try to track down the shooters while Lucy was wheeled off to receive proper medical attention. The ride back to SHIELD headquarters was quiet as they all sat deep in their own thoughts. Aspen was getting tired of faceless enemies trying to kill them. There was too much mystery surrounding the attack, too much mystery surrounding all of the events that had taken place recently. Clint had stirred up a lot more than he'd expected to, and Aspen wasn't sure how they were going to end this. She didn't know what they wanted or who they were.

"I think Zemo might still be alive," Steve said suddenly, breaking the silence. They all looked up at him in surprise. This was news to Aspen though her dream had put some doubts in her mind. But it was just a dream. Right?

"What makes you say that?" she asked.

"It was too easy to begin with. Zemo has lived a lot of years, done a lot of terrible things, and waited a long time to seek revenge against me. It doesn't seem like he should have gone down so easily."

"Hey, we had to get lucky once, right?"

"In my experience it's not that easy. And then I brought it up with Wagner, asked him how Zemo had survived the fall just to throw him off. He looked shocked as if I'd guessed something I shouldn't have. He tried to play it off, but there was fear in his eyes."

"He knows something," Aspen said irritably. "And he's not going to spill it."

"We'll force it out of him," Clint said.

"I already tried that," Steve put in. Clint and Aspen looked at him in surprise. "I got a little impatient." He looked down at his hands.

"We'll figure something out," Aspen said.

…

"What part of don't screw this up didn't you get?" Fury asked. He stood behind his desk looking quite furious, and Aspen found herself inspecting the tips of her boots as if they were something fascinating.

"With respect, sir, it worked," Clint said. "Barney remembers who he is."

"Two agents are dead."

"That wasn't planned."

"This all started with your little trip into Austria. It is _your_ problem to fix. Right now things are _not_ looking good for you, Agent Barton."

Aspen was so glad she was not in Clint's shoes right then, but she felt a stab of sympathy. He hadn't meant for any of this to happen. It wasn't his fault SHIELD's enemies were relentless.

"Any progress with the prisoner?" Fury asked. "The Austrian man who thinks he's funny."

"No, sir. He's not going to give anything away."

"Then we might need to _make_ him."

"I'm not sure that's going to work either. Steve – er – roughed him up a bit and it didn't work." Her eyes flitted to Steve. He looked embarrassed, arms crossed over his chest. Fury seemed unperturbed.

"That's not what I meant," he said, keeping his eye on Aspen. "Agent Tolvar have you ever considered the possibility that you might use that serum you were given to aid SHIELD?"

Aspen took a step back, her hand automatically going to the cuff on her left wrist. "I don't want to use it," she said automatically.

"Sometimes it isn't about getting what we want. How far would you go to help SHIELD?"

"That's not fair to ask that of her," Clint said, stepping forward.

"I'm not asking you," Fury said, not looking at Clint.

"How would my abilities help?" Aspen asked.

"In lots of ways, but right now I was thinking of a specific way. We need to get into Wagner's head somehow or force him to talk."

"And you think I could do that?"

"I think you could do almost anything you set your mind to if you knew how to use your abilities."

"I need to think about it," Aspen said. Her heart was beating loudly in her ears. "Can I go?" Suddenly the room felt too warm, too tight. Fury nodded.

"Not you," he said to Clint and Barney as Aspen brushed passed.

"Sir?" Steve said.

"You can go, Rogers," Fury said.

Aspen was already halfway down the hall when Steve caught up to her. "You're not considering doing it?" he asked.

"It doesn't sound like I have much of a choice."

"You always have a choice."

"I have the choice to do what's right."

"Hey." Steve grabbed her arm, gently pulling her around so that she was facing him. "If you don't want to take that cuff off and use your powers, then don't."

"Sometimes being an agent means you don't always get what you want," Aspen said. "He asked how far I would go to help SHIELD."

"I heard him."

"If it means that no more agents have to give their lives then yes, I'm willing to go that far. Two people died today. More could have. You let Doctor Erskine inject you with the Super Soldier Serum so you could help people. I have no right to do any less."

"This isn't about me."

"It's about doing what it takes to save the world. And if that means I need to learn to use my abilities then so be it." She turned away. "I want to go see if that girl is alright."

"The young agent?"

"Lucy. It was her first mission."

"I heard. They took her to the med-bay. Do you want me to come with you?" he asked, furrowing his brow in concern.

Aspen shook her head. "I just need some time to think," she said. "You should make sure Fury doesn't flay Clint alive. I hear he keeps his victims inside the walls around his office." She offered him a small smile before turning away.

…

Lucy was awake when Aspen found her room. She looked slightly dazed, but her brown eyes found Aspen's the moment she walked into the room. Her dark hair had been tucked back into a neat bun, and she reminded Aspen of someone.

"You're the one who saved me," she said before Aspen could speak. "Agent Gunnar told me."

"Well, I wish I could have done more. I just bandaged your head. Sorry that had to happen on your first mission."

"Aunt Maria didn't sugar coat it when she offered me a job," Lucy said.

"Aunt Maria?"

"Oh, sorry, Agent Hill. She's my aunt. I'm Lucy Hill."

"Oh, I didn't realize she had a niece. It's nice to meet you. I'm Aspen Tolvar." She put out a hand, and Lucy shook it.

"Captain America's girlfriend?" Lucy asked with an excited smile.

"Oh – er – yeah, I suppose I am."

"Sorry, it's just that he's such a legend. The story of how you met is all the new recruits ever talk about – at least the girls."

"The story of how we met?" Aspen asked dazedly. "I wasn't aware that was a trending thing."

"It's so cute! I wish that would happen to me. He doesn't happen to have a brother does he?" She laughed at Aspen's expression. "Joking."

"Did you get anything on the enemy?" Aspen asked. "Before you were knocked out?"

Lucy winced. "Just that they all had this symbol on their arms. It was a band with this strange octopus or something. I didn't get a close look before I was clobbered over the head. Sorry, that's not too helpful."

"No, it is. Anything is helpful. We're going off of nothing right now."

"They didn't tell us why we were at the mansion. Were you retrieving something? Why did you have that man handcuffed?"

"We were trying to help him get his memories back. He's Agent Barton's brother."

"Oh! Did it work?"

"Yeah, it did, but at the cost of two agents' lives."

Lucy's face fell. "I heard about that."

"You could have been killed too." Aspen's eyes flitted to the bandages on Lucy's head. "You're too young to die on a mission. Especially one that wasn't supposed to be like that. We thought we were being careful."

"Don't beat yourself up because of me," Lucy said, eyes widening. "It might have been my age that saved me. I didn't look like a threat, and it turns out I wasn't much of one."

"Eh, first missions don't always go well," Aspen told her.

"What was your first mission like?"

"With SHIELD?" Lucy nodded. "I first started working for SHIELD I mainly did missions where I acquired objects, usually objects that had been stolen by an enemy organization. But I'd already had training, so those weren't really a challenge. The challenges came later."

"Iceland?" Lucy whispered.

"How did you know about that?" Aspen asked sharply.

"Trainee gossip."

Aspen felt a surge of anger. "So they've been gossiping about me? About Iceland? That's personal." She realized she'd raised her voice when Lucy shrunk back.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "I didn't hold any stock in it. I told them to stuff it."

"It's not your fault," Aspen said. "I'm sorry. It's been a long few weeks."

"Why did you come here?" Lucy asked.

"To see you?" Lucy nodded. "I wanted to make sure you were alright."

"That's nice of you. My aunt stopped by, but otherwise no one else seemed to care. I guess just because my aunt is Fury's right hand doesn't automatically make me respected."

"Well, in my experience you have to earn respect, but I have a feeling you're going to surprise everyone in your class one day. Between you and me, sometimes the girls make the best agents. Just look at Black Widow and your aunt."

Lucy smiled. "I hope so. Aunt Maria is so graceful and commanding. I got the awkward gene, I guess. I can't take two steps without tripping over my own feet, and my stealth skills are about as accomplished as an elephant in a piano studio."

Aspen snorted. "Well you can only improve."

"I hope so."

"I'd better go, I need to think a few things out."

"Thanks for coming to check on me," Lucy said as Aspen turned to leave.

"No problem. I'll see you around, Lucy." She gave the girl a small smile.

…

Aspen found Steve waiting for her outside the med-bay, arms crossed and looking uncomfortable as the nurse at the front desk eyed him none too subtly. He pushed off the wall when he saw Aspen.

"How's Lucy?" he asked.

"She's fine. She's got a lot of spunk. Did you know that she's Agent Hill's niece?"

"I didn't realize."

"Me neither. How's Clint?"

"Still alive if barely. Fury is taking him out of the situation and refusing to provide Barney with protection if he leaves. He said he can stay here at SHIELD headquarters, and Barney took him up on his offer. Clint's going to stay too and work with him."

"So who is leading the mission now?"

"We are," Steve replied.

"We as in you and me?" Aspen asked, startled. "Fury trusts us that much?"

"He seems to. Either that or this is a test."

"Do how do we do this?" she asked.

"We need to find out what Wagner knows. I'll do what I can to get information out of him if it means you don't have to take that cuff off."

Aspen noted that the nurse was watching them with interest and started walking. Steve matched her pace. "I need to do this," she said. "It will only be for a little while. I can put it right back on."

"What exactly would you do anyway?" he asked. "Can you get him to talk?"

"I'm not sure. I know someone who would know though. I think it's time to give my mom a call."


	36. Violation

****Author's Note: ****Almost there! Wow, this one story turned out a lot longer than the first! Okay, next hint. Loki lovers? Yeah, he's coming back to cause some mischief.

* * *

**32 – Violation – June 28th, 2012**

"Hey, Mom," Aspen said as she held the phone between her and Steve. She'd set it on speaker, and they'd found an empty meeting room to sit in.

"Aspen, it's been a long time since I've heard your voice. I know you've been busy-"

"I have, and I have a question that I need to ask you. It's important," Aspen cut her off feeling terrible about it. Right now she needed answers though.

"Oh, alright. What's your question?" Aspen could tell Ava was pushing away her disappointment that this wasn't a social call.

"The Superhero Serum. If I were to use my abilities to interrogate someone, how could I extract information if they're unwilling to give it?"

There was a long pause and then, "If someone is forcing you to do this-"

"No one is forcing me, Mom. It's my decision. People are getting hurt, and I need to get to the bottom of this. It's the only way. I just need to know if it's going to work."

"With the serum you should be able to tell if someone is lying or telling the truth. Your brain picks up on signals. If there's something specific you want to know, well, there is a way. It's untested, and I'm not even entirely sure how it works. It verges more on supernatural than scientific."

"Just tell me."

"You can go into his mind. Extract the information by searching his mind for it. I don't know how it works. It's more like a psychic ability, so there's nothing concrete on how it works."

"How does one do that?" Aspen asked. She hated the idea of going inside Wagner's mind, but she knew the only way she was going to get the information she needed was if she took it by force.

"The subject's mind must be in a state of stasis – asleep or drugged. There's a device that supposedly allows for the transfer of thoughts. We never got the chance to test it, but an associate of ours who studied the brain as well as psychic abilities swore that it worked. I can get a prototype. There's one on display at the university."

"How soon can you get it?"

"Give me an hour? I can meet you at SHIELD headquarters."

"Thank you, Mom. This is really important."

"You know I'd do anything to help you, Penny."

"I know. I'll see you soon." She hung up and turned to Steve. "This had better work," she said, "because after this I want this curse gone."

…

Wagner hadn't held still to be drugged, but with Steve's help, they'd held him down long enough to inject him with a drug that would keep him down for a while. Aspen's mom had brought the equipment as promised and had even insisted on staying to set it up and monitor the process. Aspen sat down in the chair next to Wagner's cot feeling nervous butterflies twist her stomach. Her mom put two pads attached to cords on either side of Wagner's head. The cords ran into the machine and another set ran out the other side.

"Put these on either side of your head," her mom instructed her. Aspen did so. "Now you'll have to take the cuff off."

Aspen felt loathed to do it. She had sworn to herself that she never would as long as she was still infected with the serum. She took a deep breath and pressed her finger against the small screen that read her fingerprint. It snapped open and fell into her lap. She felt instantly exposed without it. The press of her powers threatened to overwhelm her. "Ready?" her mom asked.

Aspen nodded, unable to speak. Steve stood near the door, brow furrowed. She gave him a tight smile to let him know she was alright. Her mother flipped a switch on the machine. "Try to concentrate on what you're doing," she told Aspen. "Focus on pulling that information out of his mind."

Aspen shut her eyes and concentrated on finding any information on who Wagner worked for. At first nothing happened. She was very much aware of sitting in the cell with her mom and Steve watching her in anticipation. Wagner lay unconscious next to her, unable to have an opinion on the matter. Then she forced herself to forget where she was. There was only the information to be discovered. Lives were at stake. Everyone was relying on her. She dug deeper and concentrated on getting inside his mind.

When she finally did it was like passing through a layer of the sun. It burned somehow though she knew the sensation was only in her mind. She trudged on, deeper into Wagner's mind looking for the information she needed. She couldn't describe how his thoughts came to her. It was like she was seeing everything all at once. She knew that he had inherited his castle from his father who had been a collector much like him. His father had caught the attention of several high up enemy organizations, and he'd made shifty deals with them, promised them things he never fulfilled. But he held a power over them, an object, something Aspen couldn't quite see. It had been stolen though by a criminal. Marko. Without the item, Wagner's father had lost his leverage. He hadn't lasted long. His son had inherited the castle along with some precarious allies. In an attempt to gain power, Wagner had sent out his employee to steal the item back and take care of Marko. This had been Trickshot, the rogue archer working in a circus to avoid detection. He and his partner the Swordsman had both been Wagner's conmen.

Aspen dug deeper. This was all fascinating, but what did it have to do with Zemo?

Zemo had approached Wagner with a proposition. He would give Wagner his protection – Zemo was well respected by the criminal world at least from those who knew he was still alive. With Zemo as an ally, Wagner would never have to worry about the people his father had angered. In return Wagner would help him acquire certain things that would help him retain his immortality. Not just immortality but invincibility. In a world with people grappling for power, Zemo wanted to ensure that he would endure.

When April of 2012 came, and Captain America's body was recovered, that was the turning point for Zemo. With the help of some rogue scientists including an Elihas Starr he was able to find a way to become truly immortal.

Aspen grasped at the idea. It was blurry because Wagner did not quite understand how it worked. He was a coward and a businessman who hid behind his artifacts and musclemen. He was no scientist, no genius. But he understood the basics. Zemo's mind would be transferred to another vessel, would lay dormant until the time was right. His body might fail, but he would receive a new one, a stronger one. At first Wagner had feared Zemo would want him, but Zemo had made it clear Wagner's body was not strong enough for him.

The artifact Wagner had stolen back from Marko all those years ago was what made the transfer possible. The Soul Stone. Two pieces from the same crystal. Wagner had one and Zemo had been in possession of the other. When Zemo had died, he had been holding half of the Stone. And the vessel had been holding the other half. When the time was right, Zemo would awaken and claim his vessel. Experiments had made him stronger and faster. Perhaps not as strong or as fast as Captain America, but still a contender.

But who was the vessel? Aspen struggled to dig deeper. She was beginning to feel a strain on her mind like someone was driving a sledgehammer between her mind and Wagner's. Right now she couldn't see the dividing line. She needed to go deeper.

Choosing the right vessel had been a long process. Zemo had needed someone utterly loyal to the cause. Someone strong physically and docile mentally. Once he took over, his own mind would be in control. He knew that as soon as he drew Captain America to his castle that it would be the time for his death. So what if he used someone who could get close to the Captain? The Baron understood the value of a sleeper agent.

Who was the Baron? Not Zemo. She knew he didn't mean Zemo, but she couldn't see a face.

So who would be the perfect sleeper agent? Someone who would go with the Captain and Hawkeye when they left. Someone they would trust to some extent. Someone they would never suspect. The idea had occurred to Wagner. How pleased Zemo had been. How pleased the Baron had been.

Aspen dug deeper but she could see nothing about the Baron. It was as if someone had taken those bits of images and had simply erased them from Wagner's mind. Or hidden them. Whoever the Baron was, he couldn't be tracked. Not this way. She felt another strain, this time stronger. She realized that Wagner was fighting back. He was trying to push her out of his mind. It was a violation. She felt suddenly sick. She didn't want to be here, didn't want to raid his mind for information any longer. She nearly pulled out but she needed to know who Zemo had used as a vessel.

It was clear to Wagner who the choice should be. Why hadn't he thought of it sooner? He had a faithful employee who did his bidding without question who was both skilled and strong and had connections in SHIELD. The very same man who had once guarded half of the Soul Stone without realizing it.

Aspen felt a sickening jolt as she realized who it was.

Barney Barton was the reason Clint Barton had come all this way. He was the reason Captain America was here. Barney Barton would make the perfect vessel. They wouldn't suspect a thing. It would be easier if he didn't get his memories back. He'd arranged to have them tracked. If they got too close to cracking him they'd threaten them. Especially the girl. Captain America and Hawkeye would do anything for her even forbid her from interrogating Barney if it meant she was in danger. If that didn't work then they'd use more forceful means. Clearly that hadn't worked because the girl was still here. Zemo wanted the Captain for himself. It wouldn't be long until he emerged, and then there would be no hope for any of them.

Aspen felt a sharp stabbing pain in her brain. She realized it was time to pull out but she still hadn't learned who was behind all this. Clearly there was someone other than Zemo out there. Who was the Baron, and what did he want?

Wagner was really fighting now, but it made Aspen fight back all the harder. Her head felt like it was splitting open one and the fire was beginning to burn once more but she kept digging. Part of her was aware of how sick it was digging through someone else's mind. She wanted to pull out but at the same time she couldn't stop.

She saw a flicker of an image. Something guarded. Something she could break through if she tried hard enough. She knew the truth was hidden back there. If she could only reach it. She could see an underground laboratory. She could see workers and a tall man with his back to her. If only he would turn around then she could get a look at him. Something tugged at her, and she felt herself drifting away from the image. _No!_ she screamed in frustration. The man began to turn as if he heard her, but she had already lost it. Blackness consumed the images, and she was being pulled out of Wagner's thoughts.

She felt sick as she left the cramped confines of his mind. She became aware of someone shaking her shoulders and saying her name. Her vision blurred. She felt something rip off of the side of her head and realized that she was no longer connected to the machine. Something warm dripped from her nose, and she realized she was bleeding. The room swam into focus, and she saw that Steve was the one shaking her and calling out her name. Her mom stood pale-faced next to the machine which was now turned off. A loud alarm was going off somewhere outside of the cell.

"Aspen, come on!" Steve said.

"I'm here," she said wearily. "You stopped me! I was about to find out who Zemo was working with!"

"You're bleeding, Aspen," he pointed out. She wiped the blood from her nose, leaving a bloody streak across the back of her hand.

"I'm fine," she said forcefully even though she knew it was far from the truth.

"Aspen, that's not all. The alarm started going off a minute ago. Apparently Barney has forgotten himself again. He's armed and on the loose."

"That's not Barney," Aspen said, trying to collect her thoughts. "That's Zemo. Zemo has taken over his mind."

…

Steve watched anxiously as Aspen sat still in the chair next to Wagner's cot. Wagner was out cold thanks to the injection Ava had given him. He didn't like that Aspen was doing this at all. The second she'd let the cuff drop from her wrist, he'd seen the discomfort and fear pass through her eyes. Now as he watched, her brow furrowed. It had been at least five minutes since she'd been under. He resisted the urge to wake her up. A moment later she winced as if in pain. Steve turned to look at her mom for guidance. Ava's eyes were glued to her daughter, however. Steve turned back to Aspen. Something red dripped from her nose, and he realized she was bleeding.

"This has gone long enough," he told Ava. "We need to bring her back. She's bleeding."

"Aspen!" Ava called out. Aspen didn't respond. Her face was screwed up in pain and the blood dripped down to her lip. Ava turned off the machine and pulled the cords from her head.

"Aspen, wake up!" Steve said, touching her shoulder.

Somewhere outside an alarm started to blare. Steve looked around. What was happening? "_Steve? Steve, are you there?_" a voice called out on his earpiece he'd forgotten he was wearing.

"Clint? What's happening?"

"_Barney. He just changed. Went crazy. He didn't recognize me anymore._"

"Did he revert back to how he was before?" Steve asked.

"_I don't think so. He was different. Not himself anymore. Not just his memories but him. He's armed._"

"We need to pull Aspen out. This isn't going well," Steve said. "We'll get up there as fast as we can." He turned to Aspen and took both her shoulders, shaking her gently. "Aspen, come on!"

She opened her eyes suddenly. "I'm here," she said wearily. "You stopped me! I was about to find out who is at the top of all this!" She looked up at him, the frustration written clearly on her face.

"You're bleeding, Aspen," he pointed out. She wiped the back of her hand across her face, smearing the blood.

"I'm fine," she said insistently.

"Aspen, that's not all," he told her. "The alarm started going off a minute ago. Apparently Barney has forgotten himself again. He's armed and on the loose."

"That's not Barney," Aspen said, shaking her head. "That's Zemo. Zemo has taken over his mind."

"What?" Steve stared at her.

"Zemo was in possession of a Soul Stone. It was broken into two pieces, and he kept one and gave the other to Barney. When his body died, his soul reverted to the other Stone. He's still alive but in Barney's body. That was his plan all along. He knew you'd try to kill him. He lured us all there. Wanted Clint dead, wanted you dead. He still wants his revenge."

"Did you see who Zemo was working with?" Ava asked.

Aspen shook her head again. "I was about to when you pulled me out."

"Sorry, but I wasn't going to watch you get hurt," Steve told her, not at all sorry. Right now they had other problems to worry about without knowing the identity of the Baron.

"We need to get to Barney," Aspen said. "Fury isn't going to risk agents just to keep him alive. We need to get Zemo out somehow without killing Barney."

"How do we do that?"

"No idea." Aspen stood and nearly fell back down again.

"You're in no shape to fight," Steve told her firmly, grabbing her waist to keep her steady.

"I'm not sitting this one out, so don't even try to argue," she said, glaring up at him. He sighed.

Ava had released Wagner from the machine and stood looking frightened. "You need to get to safety," Steve told her.

"I'm not leaving Aspen," she said.

"Fine, then we all go together," he said, tired of arguing. Clearly he wasn't going to win this one. Aspen checked her belt for her dart guns and Steve retrieved his shield from the where it was leaned up against the wall. He pushed his left arm into the strap and motioned for Aspen and her mother to go ahead of him. The cell locked behind them, and Steve led the way to the elevator. He heard Aspen click the cuff back onto her wrist as they walked.

"Clint, what's your position?" he asked into his headset.

There was static on the other line and then "_North hall….sixth floor…down….hurry…_"

"Sixth floor." Steve slapped his hand into the button and the elevator started moving. "I knew Zemo had survived somehow." He turned his eyes on Aspen who was leaning wearily against the elevator wall. "The question is, how did you know?"

"Me?" her eyes widened. "I didn't. Not until I read Wagner's thoughts."

"But your dream."

"You had a premonition?" Ava asked.

"No! I don't know. Maybe… I dreamed that Wagner transformed into Zemo or something. It was weird."

"Is it a possible ability with the serum?" Steve asked Ava.

"It is possible… That's the thing. Almost anything is possible when she had full use of her brain. But she had the cuff on. Unless you took it off?" She turned to her daughter.

"No. I haven't taken it off more than just the once," Aspen said.

"Then I don't know," Ava confessed.

"I'm tired of being a science experiment," Aspen snapped. She turned her back on them, facing the doors as the elevator stopped at the sixth floor. Steve exchanged a worried glance with Ava before following Aspen out onto the sixth floor.

…

It was immediately obvious that something was wrong. The glass was broken in the windows of the offices along the hall. Desk chairs were overturned, and Aspen saw several SHIELD employees huddled under desks. This wasn't a floor for agents, she realized but the workers that oversaw the more white-collar jobs for SHIELD. They looked frightened, and she realized that not everyone at SHIELD was trained to fight. They weren't expecting an attack. Aspen followed the trail of destruction until she heard breaking glass. Steve tensed beside her, shield held out and ready.

"He didn't respond to my darts in Austria," Aspen said. "Starr must have done something to him that made him resistant."

"How do we do this?" Steve asked.

"I have no idea how to get Zemo out," Aspen said. "But if we could knock Barney out and get him locked up, we can find a way. Didn't Natasha break Loki's influence on Clint by hitting him pretty hard in the head?"

"Yeah, but that was just the influence of the Tesseract. It sounds like Zemo has completely taken over his body and mind. It's more like possession."

"Do you think Barney is still in there?" Aspen asked fearfully.

"I'm not sure," Steve replied.

Ava shook her head. "This goes beyond the science I worked with."

"I thought you delved into the supernatural," Aspen said. "There's nothing normal about the serum I was injected with."

"The brain is full of surprises but that doesn't make it paranormal."

Aspen didn't reply, turning away. The hall ended in a large meeting room, and inside the chairs were scattered. As they approached, Aspen saw Clint with his bow using it as a buffer as Barney attacked him. Half a dozen SHIELD agents lay unconscious around the perimeter. Cool air wafted in from the broken window, and Aspen could hear traffic down below.

"Zemo," Steve said. Barney turned his eyes on Steve, and Aspen sucked in a breath. They were no longer the steely greyish blue eyes he shared with his brother but the cold, clear blue of Zemo's eyes.

"You really thought you'd killed me?" Barney – Zemo – asked. His voice was still Barney's but the coldness it held was not his. He thrust Clint's bow back at him, sending him backwards. Zemo turned to face Steve. "I have learned the ways of immortality. You cannot kill me."

"Immortal and invincible are two different things," Steve told him, pacing to the left. Zemo turned to face him, slowly turning his back on Clint. Aspen realized Steve was doing this on purpose. "You can still kill something that's immortal."

"Yes, like you."

"I'm not immortal."

"You and I are alike though," Zemo insisted. "We have both lived through different ages, both found ways of surviving."

"I'm nothing like you. I didn't ask to be frozen and woken up in this century." Steve stopped pacing now that Zemo's back was fully to Clint. The archer seemed to understand what he was doing and got to his feet. He paced slowly toward Zemo, avoiding the broken glass that lay strewn across the floor. Zemo was intent on Steve.

"Maybe we have different ambitions, but it doesn't have to be that way. We could rule the world, Captain, you and I."

"I would never join you. I have no desire to rule the world, only protect it."

"Why protect what will always fall? Haven't you noticed the patterns? This world is always at war with one enemy or another. They've even managed to make enemies of another universe. Eventually this world will fall to one power or another. Why not simply eliminate the wars and take power now? What better way to protect it?"

"That's not protecting it, that's defeating it."

"When will you realize that you're different, Captain? You aren't like them." He nodded his head in Aspen's direction. "You aren't ordinary. It's time you embraced that."

"I don't need to embrace anything," Steve said. "Just because I'm stronger and faster doesn't make me better than anyone. Doesn't make me anything other than human."

"Herr Skull always said you needed to leave humanity behind, but you never could." Zemo cocked his head, studying Steve like he was a specimen.

"That's not going to change."

Clint had reached Zemo by now and in a quick movement had his bow around his neck, pulling back to cut off his windpipes. Zemo struggled, choking for breath. Then he grabbed the front of the bow and flung it and Clint across the room with strength that surprised Aspen. Clint hit the wall and slumped to the floor, his bow loosely held in his grip. He didn't get up again.

Steve struck out at Zemo, but Zemo managed to block it with inhuman speed. Whatever processes Barney had gone through when he was healing, it was clear that his abilities had been enhanced similarly to Steve's own abilities. She watched helpless as they fought. Steve's hand-to-hand combat skills had improved greatly during their training, and now he used both his fist and his shield to fend off Zemo. Zemo was relentless though. He laughed in joy.

"Ah to be in a young and strong body again. I did not realize it could be so great. I feel like I have no limits."

"Everyone has limits," Steve said managing to kick Zemo squarely in the chest, sending him sailing across the room.

Zemo landed hard but was up a moment later. "Yes, Captain. Even you." He ran at Steve then, flipping himself up over his head and striking out before Steve had fully turned around. Steve took a heavy blow to the side, grunting with the force of the hit. He swung his shield around but Zemo grabbed it, twisting it out of Steve's grip, though Aspen could tell it took a great amount of effort. He tossed the shield across the room where it clattered to the floor next to an unconscious agent. It was incredible watching Steve fight and under any other circumstances Aspen might have enjoyed it, but right now she could tell that Zemo was more than capable whether fueled by Barney's strength or his decades long spite for Steve. Steve sent him reeling back several times, but Zemo was always back on his feet ready to deliver another blow. Finally, when Steve managed to kick Zemo back again, Zemo paused.

"Much as I'm enjoying this, I do have somewhere to be, someone to meet. This has gone on long enough." He pulled out a gun and fired. Steve tried to dodge it, but the bullet grazed his side. Blood blossomed over his shirt.

"No!" Aspen screamed. She hurled herself at Zemo. Zemo swung an arm at Aspen, catching her as she leapt at him. The blow sent her across the room where she landed hard next to Clint. The next moment someone crashed into Zemo. Steve was back on his feet, though he was bleeding.

"You just don't give up, do you?" Zemo asked, landing a blow to the bleeding wound. Steve fell to his knees, face screwed up in pain. Then he managed to kick Zemo's feet out from under him, rising to his feet.

"No, I don't," he said, pulling Zemo to his feet by his collar. He punched him hard, sending him back down to the ground.

Aspen knew they needed to end this soon, but she had no idea how. Steve and Zemo could keep fighting and eventually one would win but either way she had no idea how to get Zemo out of Barney's mind and body. Her thoughts flitted to what she had learned in Wagner's mind. Surely there had to be something of value there. Something that would help her get rid of Zemo for good.

Her thoughts flitted to the Soul Stone. She'd learned that the Stone had two pieces. One Zemo had held when he died. The other he had given to Barney so that his soul would pass into the second Stone and awaken in Barney. So it followed that Barney still had the Stone. If Barney died then would Zemo's soul be trapped in the Stone or would Zemo simply fade out of existence? Killing Barney was not an option though. If he almost died though…could she force Zemo out? If the vessel was dying, would the soul flee to the next closest thing which in this case would be the Soul Stone? What would happen if the Stone was in one piece? She didn't have the other half though unless SHIELD had recovered it with the body. The morgue was on the second floor where Zemo's body would have been transported. Would it still be there? Aspen wanted to scream. She had more questions than answers and no one else in this room could help her.

Then she realized there was one person who could help. One person who, by touching an object, could learn everything there was to know about it.

Aspen needed to take off the cuff again. She needed to use her powers. As Zemo sent Steve reeling across the room again, Aspen slipped the cuff from her wrist, stowing it in her pocket. Her mind flooded with abilities she'd been suppressing all this time. It was suddenly taking in every detail of the room. She pushed this aside. She couldn't let herself get distracted. Zemo was striding over to Steve whose shirt was soaked in blood by now. Aspen got to her feet and stumbled over to Zemo. The Stone was in Barney's jacket pocket. She could feel the power radiating off of it. She could sense the other one two floors above with the other artifacts. If she could get her hands on the Stone she could see what it could really do. But she couldn't let Zemo know she had it. As he kicked Steve, Aspen raced forward, grabbing him around the back in an attempt to pull him away from Steve. Her hand slipped into his pocket, and she grasped the Stone as Zemo spun and sent her back across the room again.

Stars danced in front of her eyes as she landed, but clamped firmly in her fist was the Stone. "You are too weak to even consider joining this fight," Zemo told Aspen. "You're so human and breakable. How do you manage?"

Aspen glared at him. "I'm stronger than you think," she said.

"I'm sure that's what your Super Soldier tells you," he taunted her.

Aspen got to her feet, spitting out blood. She'd bitten her tongue when she'd fallen. She shut out the pain, and focused on the Stone in her hand. She could read its power. It was empty now but it had held a soul. She could feel the lingering bits of energy. She focused harder. It was almost as if the power was incomplete though. If it could be united with its other half, it could trap a soul again. She needed that other half.

Zemo had Steve by the throat now. Aspen watched in horror as he pulled a knife out and stuck it into Steve's other side. He tossed him to the floor. Steve pulled the knife out, and it came away bloody. Aspen knew Zemo wouldn't stop until Steve was dead. Steve had been thrown next to his shield though, and he grabbed it now and flung it at Zemo with all his might. It struck him on the head, and Zemo stumbled back looking dazed. Steve caught the shield and forced his way to his feet. His mouth was bleeding and his sides. He held the knife in his right hand. Aspen could tell he was being careful not to hurt Barney, but Zemo was making this difficult.

Aspen knew they needed to take him down and fast. She jumped as felt someone touch her arm and turned to see her mom. "Take this," she said pressing something into Aspen's hand. Aspen looked down to see a small metal object. A taser. "It will knock him out," she assured her, "without hurting Barney."

"Are you sure? He's strong. My darts wouldn't do it."

"It's something designed for people like him. We developed it when…well, when we were doing some experiments. Just in case. It might not last long, but it will give you a chance. He's going to kill Steve if you don't stop him."

"I know." Aspen took the taser in her hand and circled toward Zemo. Steve and Zemo were currently trapped in a struggle, Steve wielding the knife, but Aspen knew he wouldn't use the knife on Barney. Just as Zemo knocked the knife from Steve's grasp, she lunged at him, catching him off guard. She grabbed onto his neck from behind and held the taser to his chest. With a jolt, he went down. Aspen landed hard, rolling off of him. A shard of glass cut into her arm, but she hardly felt it. He would be out for ten minutes, so they needed to act fast.

"Steve." She got to her feet and stumbled over to him. His sides were still bleeding, and they needed to be bandaged.

"I'm alright," he said. "Clint?"

Aspen went over to where Clint was, checking his pulse. He was still out cold, but his pulse was strong. "He needs to be taken to the med-bay. So do you. We need to stop the bleeding."

"I'm fine," Steve brushed her concern off. "We need to take care of Zemo first."

"I have a plan for that."

"What do you need?"

She calculated. "Five minutes to get into the artifact room and back." She explained the concept of the Soul Stone. "Mom, I need you to get Steve and Clint to the med-bay." Steve started to protest, but she cut him off. "At least to get bandaged," she said. "Then you meet me in the artifact room on the eight floor. Mom, you stay and make sure Clint is okay. We need to somehow touch the Stone to Zemo. The Stone should trap him, but we might need to persuade him to leave."

"How so?"

"Can you get your hands on something to slow Barney's pulse, make it seem like his body is shutting down?" Aspen asked her mom. Ava nodded.

"Leave it to me," she said.

"We have nine minutes until he wakes up. He'll find Steve, and we'll be ready for him."

Steve looked worried, but he nodded. "I'll be there."

"Let's go," Ava said, touching Steve's arm. "Can you carry Clint?" She glanced down at his wounds.

"I'll be fine. I heal quickly," Steve said, walking over and hoisting Clint over his shoulder. "I'll see you in a few minutes," he told Aspen. "Be careful." Aspen nodded, watching as Steve and her mom left the meeting room. She glanced down at Barney one last time and then ran for the elevator. They had limited time to pull this off, and Aspen knew that if she failed Zemo wouldn't stop hunting Steve until he was dead.


	37. The Soul Stone

**Author's Note:** Here we are at the last chapter! How bittersweet, but I promise that Aspen and Steve's journey will continue. Please check out _A Game of War._ I think it's my favorite out of all the fan fictions I've written; I've worked really hard on it. Also check out _Agent Tolvar _which fills in the time between _A Game of Enemies_ and _A Game of Winter_. It will include a story line that follows their mission as they look into what happened to Wagner and who the Baron is. It will also include little shorts that are just like bonus chapters. One of those shorts is when Steve and Aspen meet for the first time from his point of view. It'll be kind of a slow project that I fill in over time. Just a little snippet here and there to keep you going. I'll probably start posting _A Game of Winter_ before I finish_ Agent Tolvar_ but that one is set a few years later, so I'll leave little hints in there that will be shown further in _Agent Tolvar_.

Alright, one more hint. This doesn't have to do with _A Game of War _or_ A Game of Winter_ but I'm really excited about this as a future project, so I just have to share with you. I started another (good grief, another?) Steve fanfic. This one is going to involve a girl who has had a similar situation to Bucky. It starts out in Stalingrad during WWII and follows her life as she is taken by Nazis and eventually trained to be an assassin and brainwashed. The story will go back and forth between her flashbacks as she starts to remember her past and Steve and Natasha interrogating her. (She'll be out of her time too like Steve and Bucky.) I have the prologue done, and it's pretty intense. I'm really diving into her character and the emotions and trauma. I want to really challenge myself with this story, and really challenge Steve with this character - get a little grittier and darker. I have no idea when I will start posting this. It's probably one of those projects I'll pick at until I have the time to fully write in it. I just had to start it. I couldn't not start it. Maybe I'll post some teasers along the way as I post my next story.

So before I end my really long note here, I want to take the chance to thank you guys for reading my stories. It means so much to me! _A Game of Trust_ has over 110 favorites now which is so amazing! When I first posted it on here, I was so afraid no one would like it, but I guess I did okay. :) This one has a little catching up to do, but just the fact that I have readers is enough for me. So thank you again. Thank you for all the reviews which make my day!

I hope you enjoy, and remember to check my profile for updates on my stories! Also if you want to follow my tumblr which has lots of Steve, I'm Ivorysword there too. :)

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**33 – The Soul Stone – June 28th, 2012**

The artifact floor was a familiar place where she had often worked. She entered a large workroom where she had sensed the Stone. She looked around, furrowing her brow in confusion. She could no longer sense it. She found the table where Wagner's artifacts were laid out but there was no Stone. She shut her eyes and concentrated. It was like following a breadcrumb trail. She could sense that the energy had been here, but it was gone. She spent another precious minute searching, but to no avail. She wanted to scream in frustration. She was wasting time. Then she sensed the pull of the Stone, far away but persistent. She concentrated, narrowing her focus so that she could only read that energy. She could feel it nine stories below her feet in the basement where artifacts were stored. She swore loudly. She had been following a stale trail. She cursed her inability to use her powers. The other half of the Soul Stone was in storage below her. And she'd told Steve to meet her here. She scrawled a hasty note on a pad of paper on the table.

_Not here. In storage in basement._

She ran back to the elevator and pressed the basement button. The elevator lurched into motion, carrying her swiftly down. It had been five minutes since she had left Zemo unconscious. She tapped her foot anxiously on the floor as the elevator took her down. When it finally shuddered to a stop and the doors opened she lunged out. She was reminded of the time when the Chitauri had invaded SHIELD headquarters. She still vividly remembered the battle that had ensued. She followed her instincts down the rows until she found the correct one. The box seemed to glow with the energy though she knew only she would be able to see it. She had just reached a hand toward the box when the lights went out. Aspen started, her breath quickening. Not ten minutes. Zemo was already awake and coming for her. He must have noticed the Stone was missing and guessed her intentions. Then she heard the elevator go back up as it was called. Panic set in, and she pushed it back, reaching for the right box – still glowing – and unlocking it quickly with her scan card. She grabbed the Soul Stone and pressed it with trembling hands to the other half. They seared together before her eyes forming a round stone. It fit perfectly in her fist, and she clenched her hand around it.

The elevator was now rumbling back down. She made for the stairs at the other end of the room, walking on silent feet just the way Clint had trained her. She had gone halfway across the room when the elevator doors slid open. Her senses were on high alert, and she could hear the shallow breathing of someone. Then footsteps. Whoever was walking into the dark room wasn't trying to be quiet. It had to be Zemo. Aspen could sense fear and realized it was her own. She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled before moving softly toward the staircase. She was nearly to the stairs when she realized this was the perfect opportunity to release Barney from Zemo's hold. It was dark and, yes, frightening, but she knew how to get around in the dark. He might be light on his feet, but Zemo didn't know this room like she did. After all the hours she'd spent down here cataloguing items, she knew every inch. Of course she didn't have the injection to make Barney's pulse slow. The Stone alone might not work. She reached for the door. If she could just find Steve, maybe he would have the injection. He hand rested on the door. She tried the handle. It wouldn't budge. She tried it again and it rattled a little. The footsteps paused, and she knew Zemo had heard.

Aspen almost went into panic mode, but she forced her mind to calm down and judge how far away he was. He was walking quietly now. She could hardly hear him no matter how hard she strained her ears. She moved to the left, skirting around a worktable. The darkness pressed in on her. She felt as if she should be able to see in the dark. Something in her brain should make that possible. Again her frustrations rose at her lack of ability to use her brain properly. She'd almost be better off without it. Without thinking, she snapped the cuff back on her wrist and everything faded back to normal. Now she knew her limits, her abilities. It was blissfully quiet in her head, and she focused on finding Zemo.

It occurred to her too late that Zemo had Barney's enhanced abilities. Aspen could only hear and see as well as the next human. Something shifted behind her, and she jumped, accidently knocking into an object that clattered to the floor. She lunged between one of the aisles as something hard struck where she had been standing.

"I can hear you bumbling around," Zemo's voice said a few feet away. Aspen backed up as quickly and silently as she could, clutching the stone in her hand. Zemo moved away, and she could hear his shoes once more. He wasn't bothering to hide himself. Aspen looked around and found herself looking up at the vague outline of the shelves. Zemo wouldn't be expecting her to come at him from above. She braced herself and began to climb, using the drawer handles as foot and hand holds. It was a long and slow process, but she made it to the top some five feet above Zemo's head. She realized she couldn't see him and the chances of her hitting the floor when she jumped were pretty high. She scanned the darkness and saw a flicker of movement below. There was a quiet buzzing, and the movement froze. Then a stroke of luck hit Aspen as Zemo pulled out a cell phone, the bright screen illuminating his face and outline in the darkness. He clucked his tongue.

"I've got somewhere to be. You're making this difficult. I'm going to kill you and your Captain in the end. Why drag it out?"

Aspen wasn't paying attention to his words. Instead she was readying herself to jump. As he moved to stow his phone away, Aspen dropped. She hit his shoulders, knocking him to the ground. She quickly rolled off of him and pushed him over, pressing the Soul Stone to his heart. Zemo's face was still illuminated in the light of his phone which lay cracked a foot away. He laughed, lying back as Aspen pressed the Stone into the front of his shirt.

"You really think that's going to work?" he asked. "Once I'm in my vessel, I can't be forced out. Not by some girl and a magical stone."

Aspen felt a jolt at his words. Then Zemo sat up and knocked his head into hers so quickly that she fell flat on her back, vision blurring in pain. The Stone was still clutched firmly in her hand. It glowed weakly. Zemo stood over her, eyes cold and cruel. "It does surprise me that the Captain would chose someone so…weak and human as you but then again perhaps it appeals to his patriotism, his never-failing desire to do what's right. You remind him of all the weak people he strives to protect. Don't you see though? You will never be like him or like me. You are so utterly human, so utterly mortal and plain. I could crush you under my boot like an insect and you couldn't do anything about it."

"Then clearly you don't know me. Haven't you been paying attention?" Aspen asked. "I _always_ keep fighting no matter who knocks me down or how many times."

"Foolish. Poor judgment. I can see why he pities you." He put a boot on Aspen's neck, pressing on the bruises. She grappled against it. "He'll be better off without you just as the world will be better off without him."

"Don't count on it."

Arms reached around Zemo, pulling him off of Aspen, and a syringe was jabbed into his neck. Zemo reached around to pull the syringe out, but the injection had already been shot into his bloodstream. He wobbled on his feet and fell to his knees before his eyes fluttered shut and he fell to the floor.

"Aspen, are you alright?" Steve knelt next to her, putting a hand on her back and helping her sit up.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Good timing." She looked over at Barney's body. "The injection should be slowing his heart. We just have to hope Zemo jumps ship before his vessel dies – or at least shows the symptoms of dying." She crawled over and pushed Barney so that he was lying on his back. She noted the scar on his face that ran across his jaw. He looked weary, and Aspen realized just how much he'd been through since he and Clint were children. First the abuse, then the death of their parents. Serving in the Army and joining the FBI. And then the brainwashing and the stealing and murdering… He deserved to be rid of this evil in him. She pressed the Stone to his heart and waited.

The wait was long, and Aspen was terrified it wasn't going to work. Footsteps on the stairs alerted them that someone was approaching. The door rattled and someone cursed before kicking in the door.

"Aspen? Steve?" It was Clint.

"Over here."

They heard more cursing as Clint made his way over to them. He pulled out his own phone to light the way. "What the hell happened to the lights?" he asked.

"Zemo."

"Barney?" Clint knelt down next to him. "What's wrong with him? Don't tell me he's-"

"He's not dead. We gave him an injection that slows his pulse. We're hoping that Zemo will leave the vessel if he thinks it's dying. The Stone will collect and trap his soul."

Clint's face was pale and a cut ran along his face. Aspen took his hand, and he held onto it tightly. "How long should it take?" he asked.

"I don't know. I'm not sure it's going to work."

Clint tensed. "What do we do if it doesn't work?" There was a vulnerability to his voice that Aspen rarely heard.

"I don't know."

"I know what an agent would do."

"We're not killing him," Aspen assured him. "Never that. We'll find another way." Clint nodded wordlessly. They continued the tense wait in silence.

Then the Stone began to glow. Barney's body seemed to lift up, and Aspen felt the Stone grow warm under her palm. She held on as the light grew brighter and brighter until they were all squinting. Then there was a high-pitched sound like someone screaming. Aspen gritted her teeth against it. It was a devastating, dying sort of sound that cut to her soul. Then the light died as quickly as it had started, and Barney slumped to the floor.

"Did it work?" Clint asked breathlessly.

"I think so." Aspen felt Barney's pulse.

"Your mom gave me an antidote to quicken his heart again," Steve said, pulling out a second injection. Aspen watched as he injected Barney. The Stone was still warm under her fingers and the dim light seemed to swirl within it.

Barney stirred next to them, and Clint let out a breath he had been holding. "Barney?" His brother opened his eyes and looked around dazedly. His eyes were grey once more no longer holding the evil they had when Zemo was in possession.

"My head," he said gruffly, putting a hand to his temple. "What happened? One minute I was talking to you, the next I just felt this overwhelming pressure in my head and everything went black."

"Zemo took over your mind using this Stone," Aspen told him.

"Zemo? Where is he now? Did you get him out?" His eyes were wide in shock.

"Yeah, he's in here. His soul anyway." They all looked down at the glowing Stone. Suddenly the lights flickered on overhead. "I think I know of a good place for this." Aspen stood and walked over to the drawer she had found half of the Stone in earlier. She opened it and put the stone inside before shutting the drawer. "These drawers are designed to keep things in," she told them. "I don't think he has a way to get out without his body."

Clint and Steve helped Barney to his feet and they all stood, catching their breath. "Welcome back," Clint said, clapping his brother on the shoulder.

Aspen simply slumped against Steve. "Let's not come in tomorrow," she said with a prolonged sigh.

…

"You saved a lot of lives two days ago, Agent Tolvar," Fury said surveying her from where he sat behind his desk. "You too Rogers. How are those wounds healing up?"

"Fine, sir," Steve said. He was a quick healer thanks to the serum, but Aspen had forced him to take it easy the last few days. They were all suffering the after effects of Zemo's onslaught.

"I take it you've been in contact with Barton. How is his brother?"

"Doing well, sir. Trying to remember. Clint told me you gave him a leave. He's taking a road trip with Barney. Now that Zemo's gone, no one is after us."

"I felt like he could use some time."

"He also said you offered Barney a job."

"He's got a skillset that could be useful. And he's loyal to his brother now that he has his memories back."

"I think it's a good idea."

"Speaking of job offers, there's something I wanted to run by you and Captain Rogers." He surveyed them with his good eye. "How do you feel about moving to DC? There are two upper level positions available there if you're interested. We could use agents like you at the Triskellion Headquarters. You're both capable agents and have proved yourselves over and over."

Aspen looked at Steve whose eyes were distant in thought. "Can we think about it?" she asked.

"Of course. Take your time. You both proved that you can handle yourselves in dangerous and unexpected situations with minimal casualties. There's no use holding you back when you have so much potential." He turned his eye to Aspen who was still trying to wrap her mind around the offer in DC and the promise of a higher level waiting. "I had something else I wanted to ask. I know that you used your…abilities during the situation. How did that go?" Fury asked.

"Not well. I had no idea what I was doing. I just can't grasp this ability because I have no idea what I can do."

"What if you had the proper training?"

"I'm the only one in the world with this…affliction. I don't think anyone can help me."

"Just because no one else has full access to their brains doesn't mean there aren't specialists out there who could help you understand what you're capable of. There's a psychologist in DC in our employment. She's very knowledgeable and followed your parents' work closely. I believe she could help you learn to control your abilities if you were willing to try."

"I'd have to think about it." Aspen's fingers automatically moved to the cuff around her wrist.

"Give it a few days and let me know. So far your training has been sporadic at best. In DC you would focus on training and missions and try to avoid distractions. One more thing. During the fiasco the power to the prison block was knocked out, and Wagner managed to get out."

"He's gone?" Aspen asked.

"Not quite. We took the liberty of injecting a tracking device under his skin without his knowledge. We were deliberating whether or not to let him go."

"You think he'll lead us to whoever was behind all this? Whoever he's working for?"

"He'll go scurrying back. I know his kind."

"Sir, I'd like to see this finished."

"I know. This will be your mission once Wagner leads us to his employer."

"Thank you, sir," Aspen said. She and Steve stood.

"I look forward to hearing your decision," Fury told them.

Aspen's head was buzzing as they left Fury's office. Steve was quiet and thoughtful. "There's someone I want to talk to," Aspen told Steve. "And then we can go home and think things through."

"Of course."

Aspen left him, making her way down to where the recruits trained. She saw Lucy at the edge of the room away from the other young agents. She saw Aspen and waved. The other agents in her class looked over at Aspen, eyes widening in recognition. Aspen was still unsettled by how much they seemed to know about her. Lucy walked over. Her head was looking much better, and she beamed as she reached Aspen.

"Hey!"

"Hey yourself."

"What brings you here?" Lucy asked. The other agents were whispering curiously, but Lucy ignored them.

"I was hoping to talk to you. If you have the time."

"Yeah, of course." Lucy walked with her out into the hall. "What's up?"

"Fury asked Steve and me to move to DC to work there."

"That's great! Isn't it?" Lucy gave her a quizzical look. Today she was wearing thick-framed glasses that made her brown eyes look larger.

"Why did you want to become an agent?" Aspen asked Lucy.

The girl thought for a moment. "Well, I always looked up to Aunt Maria, and I've always wanted to make a difference in the world. There never really was anything else I wanted to do. This just felt right."

"For the longest time I just wanted a normal life," Aspen told her. "But somewhere along the line this became normal."

"Something's bothering you," Lucy said. "Other than DC. I can tell."

Aspen deliberated before plunging ahead. "In Iceland I was injected with a Superhero Serum developed by my parents," she told Lucy, opting for the whole truth. "It gave me the ability to use all of my brain. At first it was incredible but then it just got to be too much. I hated it. So I found a way to cut it off." She indicated the cuff. "But I used my powers the other day to get information out of one of the prisoners. I…entered his mind. It was painful and intrusive, and I felt sick afterwards. It didn't matter that he was a bad person. It was still a violation. Now Fury thinks my abilities could turn me into a really good agent. I think he's right, but I'm afraid. He says there's someone who can train me to use this…gift…curse…whatever it is. I know what Steve will say. He'll tell me I should do what feels right to me. Not let anyone pressure me into anything. But I know I could do a whole lot of good if I learned to use it."

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Lucy asked.

"I'm sorry I'm unloading all of this on you. It isn't fair." Aspen regretted passing on her worries.

"No, no, I want to help. I was just wondering why you picked me to talk to."

"Why not? I don't really have any friends to talk to about this."

"Of course you have friends. You just don't realize it. This power of yours, do you want to learn how to control it?"

Aspen nodded. "I do. I really do. But I'm also afraid."

"Of what?" Lucy asked.

"I don't know what to expect. It's so overwhelming, and I'm not sure I want that kind of power. I do want to help people though."

"It's your choice whether or not you want to use it so it should be your choice of _how_ you want to use it too."

"I just don't want to ever get inside someone's mind like that again," she said.

"Then don't. No one is going to force you."

Aspen sighed. "Why am I so bad at making decisions?" she asked.

"Maybe because you've lived a tough life – from what I've heard. You don't want to make any choices that are going to make you unhappy. So you need to focus on what makes you happy. What _does_ make you happy?" she asked.

"Steve," Aspen answered at once. She blushed a little at Lucy's grin.

"And what does he think of all this?"

"I'm not sure. We haven't discussed it yet."

"Then you should be talking to him, not me!" Lucy chided her.

"I know, I know. I felt nervous about it for some reason. I just wanted to talk to someone who wasn't directly involved."

"Go talk to him," Lucy told her, giving her a little nudge. "I have a feeling _you_ are what makes him most happy in this world so whatever decision you two make, if you make it together, then it's the right choice."

"How did you get so wise?" Aspen asked the girl in surprise.

"Oh, you know, life experience, a few mistakes along the way, a few successes. Let me know how it goes, okay?" Aspen nodded and they exchanged numbers. When Aspen left Lucy to return to her training, she was feeling so much lighter. Now it was time to talk to Steve.

…

"New York is your home," Aspen told Steve as he drove them home.

"Yeah, well, I grew up here, but I'm not overly attached to it," he replied. "It holds good memories and bad memories. Sometimes new starts are a good thing."

"You think we should accept?"

He glanced at her. "What do you want, Pen?"

"I don't know what I want. New York has been my home for a year, but like you said there are good memories and bad. I like new starts too. I like the sound of training and going on missions like we were supposed to do. It's just been so hectic here. Maybe a new start is just what we need to be normal – well, as normal as people like us can be."

"So you want to do it?" he asked with a smile.

"I think I want to do it." She found herself grinning. In the last few weeks she had been shot, beaten up, watched Clint go through the pain of seeing his brainwashed brother and her boyfriend get shot and beaten up. She'd been to Paris, Austria, and had faced one of Steve's oldest enemies. She wasn't sure she could keep that up kind of lifestyle anymore.

"We can share an apartment," Steve said. "If you want to, of course."

"Of course I do," Aspen said, and she couldn't help the grin that followed. "I wonder what level he'll raise us to? I feel like I haven't done enough to merit that."

"I'm not sure why he's raising mine either."

"Umm, because you're Captain America?" Aspen said, giving him a playful shove. "I think that automatically gets you pretty high. I think Fury's hoping I give into the Serum and use it if he promotes me. I suppose that would make me a pretty good agent if I learned how to control it."

"You're already a good agent, but I could see how that might help. Of course that choice is up to you. I remember how you first felt when you started experiencing the effects of the serum. You put that cuff on your wrist for a reason."

Aspen was quiet for a moment. "I used to want it out of me so badly. I wanted to be normal again. I do still, but I had never considered before that there might be a way of controlling it. Learning how to use it. Wagner said there was something much worse coming. When it does come, I want to be ready."

Steve placed a hand over hers. "When it comes," he said. "_We'll_ be ready."


	38. Epilogue

**Author's Note: **Thank you for reading! I'm super psyched for _A Game of Winter_ which I have finally started! I started it like two days ago and wrote 15 pages. So yeah, it's going well. I didn't know how the plot was going to go, but I'm getting some great ideas! I feel like after having watched season one of _Agents of Shield_, all the seasons of _Earth's Mightiest Heroes _and_ Avengers Assemble_ AND started reading comics (I have like 20 now...) I have a really good grasp on the whole Marvel universe. It's helping me get a little more daring with the plots. There is just so much to the universe that Marvel has created. It's so fun to explore.

_A Game of War_ is completed and posted now and _Agent Tolvar_ has three chapters. My best friend (blackinkonbluelines) has started posting a Bucky fan fiction which you should definitely check out! I've read the whole thing, and it's really good! She gets into that nitty gritty detail that we don't see in the first Cap movie about Bucky's imprisonment and subsequent experimentation that Zola puts him through. It is called _Bleak December_ and you can find it under my favorite stories. She is an amazing author!

Also I have posted a new poll asking which fan fiction project you would like to see from me first: another Steve fan fiction with a different plot and OC or a Loki and OC story. You can vote on my profile. This will be a spring project.

Thank you again for all the favorites and follows and comments. It means so much to me! I still can't believe how well received my Avengers stories have been. You guys are the best! :)

* * *

**Epilogue – July 15th, 2012**

**Currently tracking location…**

Last time Fabian Wagner had been here he had been bearing better news. Now as he took the lift down to the bottom floor of the facility, he felt his gut twisting with anxiety. There had been nothing he could do. Zemo hadn't met him at the agreed upon meeting place, and so Wagner assumed that something bad had happened, the plan had somehow failed, and now he was to be the bearer of bad tidings. The Baron didn't like bad news. He was a man of science, of discovery and had an unlimited amount of patience for what he did, but he had no patience for failures.

The elevator halted and the doors slid open with a ding that sounded somewhat final to him. He walked into what could only be described as a laboratory with test tubes and beakers and technology he had no head for. Modern science was always something the Baron insisted was mankind's greatest gift to people like him. You could do so much more nowadays. Reach that much further into the depths of science. The Baron didn't believe in impossibilities. Wagner never liked science. He liked solid, understandable things like treasure and money. Those he could understand.

Along one wall of the lab was a row of glass rooms that served as cells for the Baron's experiments. Most of the experiments were moaning on the ground, their faces gaunt and hair falling out in clumps. The Baron's body count made Hitler look like a saint and all in the name of science. Wagner hurried on, hating the lab more and more by the minute.

The Baron was looking over some notes when Wagner approached but he straightened himself and turned to face Wagner. He was dressed impeccably as always, hair shorn neatly. Military straightness to his shoulders. "My dear Herr Wagner. I was so glad to hear of your escape from SHIELD. I do hope they didn't rough you up too much."

The words sounded genuine, but Wagner knew it was a front. The Baron didn't care about people like him. He was just a pawn to be sacrificed. "I am sorry that Zemo didn't make it. Clearly the Captain was a greater enemy than we expected."

"Clearly. Tell me about this girl though. The one who has the powers. I am very interested in her."

"She was injected with the Tolvars' Superhero Serum. The only living recipient of it. It was like nothing I've ever seen before. She reached into my mind, and it was like she could see my memories, my thoughts. I have no doubt she played a hand in Zemo's downfall."

"Very interesting." The Baron tapped his fingers on the counter behind him. "And what memories and thoughts did she see?"

Wagner felt a surge of panic, realizing he had said the wrong thing. "Nothing of you, I can assure you! I hid that well. She saw nothing that could give you away."

"Good, very good. That could have been disastrous."

"I know, I'm sorry."

"With Zemo gone, that leaves it in my hands to continue his work. I wonder if you might be interested in helping me with my work?"

Though Wagner felt a sense of foreboding, he nodded. "Of course Baron. Anything to help."

"Good, good. The Captain is about to learn what happens when he meddles with us. As for you, there's an empty cell that needs filling. I'm afraid one of my patients…left us this morning. He will be buried with the rest. You, however, would make a fine replacement."

Wagner felt horror fill his being as the Baron took a step toward him. "No, please! I did everything I could!"

"If that was true then Zemo would be here with us and not with SHIELD."

Wagner scrambled to get away, but two surly guards came up behind him and grabbed him, pulling him away.

"Goodbye Fabian," the Baron said. A smile tweaked the edges of his lips, and his monocle glinted in the fluorescent lights as he turned away.

End of Story Two

Aspen and Steve's story continues in _A Game of Winter_.

Coming soon.


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